Brothers With a Sister
by PenBeatsSword
Summary: The Marauders swore to be brothers forever, but what might happen if they had a sister? What insanity, pranks, and adventures await them in their seven years at Hogwarts? Riley Stevens is just one of the guys. See the Marauders and how it all begins.
1. What Now is a Witch

**This is my new story, the Marauders at Hogwarts with a special OC, Riley. **

What Now is a Witch

Riley Stevens sat on the couch, flipping through the channels with the remote pointed at the TV. Channel after channel provided nothing interesting worth giving attention to. Her mom and dad were upstairs, taking a nap, and Buster(the dog) was napping as well on the floor next to Riley's feet. The doorbell suddenly rang, and Hannah muted the volume on the TV and went to answer the door. She opened it, and there stood an old man in long blue robes and a pointed hat.

"Are you Miss Riley Stevens?" he asked. Riley nodded slowly, not daring to speak, because if she did, she feared her mouth would drop open.

"I am Professor Dumbledore. Could I come in?" asked the man. Riley took in a breath, willed herself to stop being shocked by the weird guy at her door, and answered.

"Yeah, sure," Riley replied in no more than a whisper. Now she was afraid if she talked she would either start laughing or screaming. Dumbledore followed her into the living room, and he sat on a chair opposite the couch, where she retook her earlier seat.

"Who are you?" she asked, looking into his startlingly blue eyes.

"Like I said, I am Professor Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of a school called Hogwarts," he said.

"I've never heard of a Hogwarts," Riley said. The professor smiled.

"That is because you are the only one like yourself in your family," Dumbledore replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Miss Stevens, you are a witch," he said.

Riley's jaw dropped. What the heck was going on?

"I am a what now?"

"That is a very good question, Miss Stevens. I suppose I should define the 'what now' as the term for a girl of magical powers. You would be one," he said calmly.

"There's no such thing as magic," Riley said. Dumbledore shook his head.

"Yes, indeed there is. Would you like me to prove it to you?" Dumbledore asked. Riley's eyes widened. If he was offering to prove it to her, that meant it was real. She was really a witch. She nodded, and Dumbledore took out a stick from his pocket. He aimed it at Buster, who immediately began floating through the air, though still asleep.

"I have obviously been proven wrong, Professor," said Riley, "Let me guess, you've come to tell me that I should be a student of Hogwarts?"

"Very clever, Miss Stevens. Now, as the headmaster of this school, it is therefore my duty to show you the way to Diagon Alley and Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Where are your parents?" asked Dumbledore.

"Upstairs, asleep. If I get them up, can we go to Diagon Alley today?" Riley questioned.

"If they agree to it," replied Dumbledore. Riley needed no approval, she dashed upstairs and woke up her parents with gentle but hyper shaking. Within ten minutes, the three people were ready to go and joined Dumbledore downstairs. He took out a little sack of something, when he opened it, Riley saw it was sand.

"Why do you have sand, Professor?" she asked, confused. What did sand have to do with going to Diagon Alley?

"It is not sand. It is Floo powder. Take some and throw it in your fireplace," said Dumbledore, gesturing towards the fireplace on the other side of the room. Riley took a handful, and watched as Dumbledore flicked his wand and flames grew out of the logs. Trying not to act too surprised and confused, Riley threw it into the fire. The flames turned green, a bright emerald green to rival the green in Riley's own eyes.

"Just step into it, and say 'the Leaky Cauldron'," instructed Dumbledore. Riley nodded, and put a cautious foot into the flames. Finding them harmless, she hopped in and spoke her destination. She was immediately swooped away from her cozy living room, into a cocoon of roaring green flames. Occasionally, she glimpsed other places as they rushed by. Or was she doing the rushing? Before she had time to think it over, she was thrust out of the fire and a large pub met her eyes. The green flames came out of the fireplace again, and Dumbledore stepped calmly out, acting like he was oblivious to Riley's mother clutching onto his arm like her life depended on it. Riley's father was holding her mother's hand, eyes wide and mouth gaping. Riley held back a laugh. This day would be interesting.

"Follow me. We would have Flooed straight into Diagon Alley, but this being your first time, I always think it exciting to view it from the archway," Dumbledore said. Riley followed him outside to a little corner. For the third time that day, Riley saw Dumbledore draw his wand, and he tapped a brick somewhere in the middle of the wall. The bricks began to move aside, until a beautiful and amazing alley came into view.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, and, quite frankly, the Wizarding World, Miss Stevens," he said.

"Thank you, Professor," Riley replied.

"Now, here is your letter, Muggleborns get theirs hand-delivered, seeing as they need a little introduction. There's a list of supplies and your train ticket in there, as well,"

"Train ticket?"

"Yes, you take the Hogwarts express from King's Cross Station, I assume you have been there?" Riley nodded. "All right, then you just enter the platform by going through the wall between platforms nine and ten. Also, it would be a wise idea to say your goodbyes outside the platform, as Muggles such as your parents can not enter and it would be unwise to try. It is, after all, a wall," Riley chuckled at the Headmaster's little joke.

"Is this it, then, Professor?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I shall see you at the Welcoming Feast," replied the Professor, and he turned on his heel and disappeared. Riley and her parents gaped at the spot where he vanished.

"Maybe I'll learn to do that someday," said Riley. She opened the envelope Dumbledore had given her, and pulled out a list of supplies.

* * *

><p>An hour later found Riley and her parents outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Riley was licking a chocolate ice cream cone, while looking at her supplies list. A nice wizard had told her how to change Muggle money to wizard money, and they went to Gringotts to do so. She had gotten all of her books at Flourish and Blott's, but purchasing a few other books. Riley had gotten <em>Hogwarts: A History <em>by Bathilda Bagshot_, A Study of Basic Potions and Ingredients _by Martin Crevaskkey_,_ and _How to Hex your Neighbor_ by Margaret Sanhoven. Her cauldron, scales, potions ingredients, uniform, phials, and telescope were all safely tucked away in her brand-new trunk engraved with her initials and the Hogwarts crest. The only things left to get were a wand, and an owl, as her special starting-magical-school gift from her parents. In Riley's view, they were taking all of it surprisingly well.

"I'm going to go get my wand now," said Riley suddenly, standing up. Her parents looked up at her from their identical vanilla sugar cones.

"Sweetie, we'll go with you," said her mother. She made to stand up, but Riley gently pushed her down.

"I want to do this on my own," she replied, and walked down the street, but she had barely taken ten steps when she realized she didn't know which shop was a wand shop. She looked around, recognizing most of the shops, as she had been nearly everywhere. The Apothecary, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, but no unfamiliar shops showed any signs of being a wand shop.

_When in doubt, ask somebody else, _thought Riley, as she spotted a man in light yellow robes. She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, do you know where I can buy a wand?" she asked, looking into his eyes. The man smiled warmly, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, yes, you'd want to go to Ollivanders, best around, right over there," replied the man, pointing a finger over to a small shop with the name in white writing near the roof. Riley thanked him, and slipped through the crowd towards the shop. She entered the building, silently thanking God there was no one else. She was nervous beyond belief, and she didn't want anyone else to see this.

"Hello?" she called to the empty room. Suddenly, a bang and a shuffle was heard from the back, and a man who slightly resembled the goblins appeared behind the desk.

"Hello, looking for a wand, are you?" he asked pleasantly.

"Yes," Riley said. The man nodded and walked around the desk to her.

"What's your name?" he asked. Riley guessed he must be Ollivander.

"Riley Stevens," she replied. He nodded again.

"What's your wand arm?" Riley answered each of Mr. Ollivander's odd questions, until he finally took a box from a shelf and pulled a long, thin wand from it.

"Try this one. 14 inches, unicorn hair, mahogany, rather firm, wave it a bit," he handed her the wand, and she gave it a small flick like she had seen Dumbledore do, but he took back the wand shaking his head. She tried another one, dragon heartstring and cherry, but just made a weird hissing sound. Riley tried about five other wands, until Ollivander handed her one with a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I think you'll like this one. Phoenix feather, willow, swishy yet firm, 12 inches," As soon as she took the wand in her hand, Riley felt a strange excitement. The wand felt pleasantly warm, and her hand tingled a bit. She waved it around, copious amounts of light issuing from the tip. Ollivander looked overjoyed.

"Excellent, excellent, that's just perfect. I think you'll find a bit of talent in Charms at Hogwarts, this one's excellent for it,"

Riley just smiled and paid the man, putting the wand in the box and stowing it in her pocket. Once she got back to her parents, she showed it to them, and they set off to Eyelops Owl Emporium. Riley had only seen pictures of owls, and was excited to get one. The shop seemed magically enlarged, as it looked much smaller outside. Owls of all kinds flew about the place, except some larger more aggressive-looking ones which sat in locked cages. One owl on a perch near the left side caught Riley's eye. A beautiful tawny owl with hazel eyes looked at her. She reached out a finger to pet it, and it closed its eyes and lowered its head, as if asking for love. Riley took the owl to the front, paid for it, and set off to one of the fireplaces outside with her parents and her owl and its new cage.

"Riley, how are we supposed to get back?" her mother began looking panicky. Riley just smiled and pulled out her letter.

"There's a bit of Floo Powder in this envelope. I think Dumbledore left it," she replied. Riley pinched the powder between her fingers, and threw it onto the fireplace. Her mother grabbed her and her father's hands, and Riley led them in, shouting Number 10 Haven Way, and they were swept back home.

**Like it? Hate it? Please review! **


	2. Legendary

**Hey everybody! The first chapter, admittedly, sucked, but now you get to meet the Marauders! Yaaay!**

Legendary

September 1 found Riley at King's Cross Station with her parents, following Dumbledore's instructions to the platform. Her trunk was packed, and she had read all of her course books at least 3 times but wasn't even done with the first chapter of _Hogwarts: A History _yet. Hopefully she could get more reading time on the train. The first chapter was all about the founders and how they came together. Riley was very anxious to get to Hogwarts, there were no pictures in her book and she didn't know what it looked like. The wall at the platforms came into view, and Riley took a deep breath. Here she was, about to go off on her own to a place where she had no idea where it even was. She turned to her parents.

"Goodbye Mum, Dad," she said, trying hard not to cry. She knew if she cried, her parents would cry, and she'd miss the train with all their hugging and crying and goodbyes.

"Oh, bye, sweetie," Joanne said, hugging her daughter. "I'll miss you so much."

"Have fun at your new school, Ri-bear," Marcus said, also hugging Riley. Riley rolled her eyes at the nickname, but hugged him back.

"Dad, I have to go now," she whispered. Marcus let her go, and looked at her with pride in his eyes.

"All right, Ri-bear. You go and make lots of new friends. And don't forget to write," he replied. Riley nodded her head, took hold of her trolley, and walked swiftly through the barrier. She felt a pleasant _whoosh _sensation, and she opened her eyes to see a whole different place. Her green eyes widened at the amazing Hogwarts Express that stood on the tracks. Wizards and witches-some her age, some nearly eighteen-rushed by, all trying to get onto the train. Riley made her way through the crowd, giving Amber(her owl) to a handler who put him on the train among other pets. With great effort, Riley lugged her trunk onto the train and through the hallway. None of the compartments she saw were empty, and she would rather not sit with a bunch of teenagers, so she found a compartment that only held two boys that looked young, around 11, and carefully slid open the door and poked her head in.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit with you?" she asked. Both boys turned to look at her. They both had black hair, though one's was short and messy, while the other had slightly longer hair. The short haired boy had hazel eyes behind round framed glasses, while the other had grey eyes.

"I'm James Potter," said the bespectacled boy, motioning for her to sit next to him. Riley stowed her trunk away and sat.

"And I'm Sirius Black, of the Most Ancient and Bigheaded House of Black," said the other. James laughed, but Riley just gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"My family is big on supporting witches and wizards with magical parents, in other words, pure bloods. I, fortunately, have escaped their influence," replied Sirius. Riley let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. If Sirius wasn't like his family, he wouldn't hate her for having non-magical parents.

"So, mystery girl, what's your name?" asked James.

"Riley. Riley Stevens. I'm Muggleborn," she answered.

"All right then, Riley, since you don't already know about the Houses, we therefore cannot ask you which one you would like to be in," said Sirius.

"But, if we tell you about them, would you be interested in enlightening us with a prediction of your future and House preference?" asked James.

"Huh?" said Riley, confused.

"There are four Houses. Gryffindor, for the brave, courageous, and noble, Ravenclaw, for the clever, smart, and grades-obsessed, Hufflepuff, for the nice, honest, and hardworking, and the occasional loser, and Slytherin, the obnoxious, loud-" James cut Sirius off.

"Ambitious, cunning, and usually people like Sirius' family," he finished.

"Oh, that makes sense. I'm probably headed for Ravenclaw. What about you two?" Apparently this had been the wrong thing to say. The boys gave identical gasps, their faces masks of shock.

"No! Ravenclaw is for the nerds! Join us in Gryffindor!" said James. Sirius nodded frantically.

"Sorry, but that probably won't happen. I'm not brave, I'm scared of the dark," Riley replied, shrugging. "Plus, I like books and reading. Speaking of that, there's this really interesting book called _Hogwarts: A History_ that I've been dying to continue," Riley pulled said book out her bag, but as she turned to page 11 and began to read, the book was yanked out of her hands by Sirius.

"Hey, give me my book!" she snapped. How dare he? She just wanted to read!

"No. You will not spend the amazing first ride to Hogwarts reading a book! You must talk and have fun, Riley," said Sirius, putting the book on the seat beside him. Riley opened her mouth to say something, but someone else beat her to it.

"Do you three mind? I've got nowhere to sit," a sandy-haired boy in the doorway, who looked pale and sickly, looked around the compartment nervously.

"All right, if you don't mind violence, because I'm about to give Sirius a severe-" Riley's words were drowned in Sirius' palm, which was now covering her mouth.

"Come on in! What's your name?" he said cheerfully. The boy just sat down at the seat opposite Riley, near the window. He took out a book identical to Riley's and began reading, only to have his copy taken from him too.

"Seriously, you people need to learn. Reading this evil book is not a good way to spend a train ride," James said, putting the boy's copy on top of Riley's.

"There's no point arguing with them, they're just stubborn," Riley said, smiling at the boy. He just looked at the floor and scooted closer to the window.

"Don't be so shy. I suspect you're a Ravenclaw wanna-be too," scoffed Sirius.

"Yes, I wanna be in Ravenclaw," replied the boy. Sirius looked dumbfounded. This boy was smart.

"Maybe you won't be. Maybe you'll be with us," he said.

"Yes, but that is highly unlikely and since we might never speak again, there's no point in speaking now," said the boy, and began gazing out of the window.

"It's not as unlikely as you think. Come on, be our friend," pursued Sirius.

"No," said the boy.

"Just tell us your name," Riley spoke up, trying to meet the boy's golden eyes.

"No," he repeated.

"Come on, I'll probably be in Ravenclaw, too. If we end up there together we can be friends," she said. The boy sighed, and finally looked her in the eyes.

"Fine. I'll tell you. But only you, because the chances of them getting into Ravenclaw is like Hogwarts randomly turning pink," he said. Riley switched seats and put her ear close to him. He cupped his hands and whispered two words into it.

"Remus Lupin," whispered Remus, and then returned to his window gazing.

"What is it?" asked Sirius, turning to face Riley.

"Not telling," she replied, smirking.

"Tell us and we'll give you your book back," James said.

"No," she answered.

"You're beginning to sound like him, you and your "no's". Why won't you tell us?" Sirius persisted.

"Because he didn't want you to know, so he didn't tell you. If you two get into Ravenclaw, maybe he'll tell you then. But he trusted me, so I'm keeping my lips shut," said Riley, and the tone of finality in her voice meant the conversation was over. James got the hint and changed the subject to Quidditch. The two raven-haired boys spent the next hour telling Riley all about Quidditch, while occasionally asking Remus some questions. When he didn't answer, they sighed and turned back to Riley. The rest of the train ride passed like that, while the three discussed classes, the Headmaster, Diagon Alley, broomsticks, wands, and pranks. They spent an especially long time on pranks, James discussing in a loving tone all of his pranks on his cousins and such.

"You know what we should do, James?" asked Sirius.

"What?"

"Pull a prank at the feast. We'll be legendary! First years pulling a prank within their first hour at Hogwarts!"

"That's a cool idea, but won't you get in trouble?" Riley asked, looking from James to Sirius.

"Yeah, but it'll be worth it. We don't know much magic yet, though, and it'll be hard to plan in the next few hours we have on this ride," replied James.

"Maybe just something simple, like let off a few dungbombs, fireworks, and then we do a weird stunt so we're noticed, and we get the first detentions of our Hogwarts career," Sirius said, with a gleam in his eyes.

"What are dungbombs?" Riley asked.

"They're like Muggle smoke bombs, except bigger, you light them, and they're like a giant fart, green clouds of air and a big stink," answered Remus, speaking up for the first time in three hours. James and Sirius gasped.

"He speaks!" said Sirius, eyes wide. Remus just glared at them.

"Maybe you two could, I don't know, steal the Headmaster's hat and impersonate him," suggested Riley. Sirius and James looked at each other.

"That's a great idea!" they said, simultaneously. Remus groaned.

"Don't go giving them bad ideas, Riley, I thought you were a Ravenclaw!" he said.

"I am, but as long as I'm not involved, they can have their fun," she replied, smiling at him.

* * *

><p>The four stepped off the train later, newly clad in their Hogwarts robes. The night sky was cloudless, a million beautiful stars lighting it up. They walked over to a large man with a bushy beard who was calling the first years to him. Sirius and James had taken to asking Remus questions about his name, which he refused to answer. The large man, who James had identified as Hagrid, led them over to the lake, where they saw the magnificent castle. Many lights were alight in the hundreds of windows scattered across the beautiful walls of the castle. Hagrid instructed them to load into the boats that lay near the shore of the lake, with no more than four people in one. Remus reluctantly joined Riley with James and Sirius as they loaded in.<p>

"Here, I'll hold the lantern," Riley said, taking hold of the lantern on a long stick that lay in the front of the boat. James and Sirius sat in the middle, and Remus sat in the back. Once every first year was in a boat, they magically began floating across the water.

"You know, in _Hogwarts: a History_ it says that there's a Giant Squid in this lake," said Remus.

"Really? I'm reading that, but I'm only on page ten, thanks to _some_ people," Riley said.

"A Giant Squid? That sounds awesome! Hey, James, let's look for it!" exclaimed Sirius. The two boys began leaning over the side of the boat, to the right.

"Guys, don't lean like that, you'll tip us over," said Riley, putting her hands on the sides in a desperate attempt to steady the boat.

"Relax. We're careful, we will-" but what they would do remained a mystery, because at that moment, the boat promptly capsized. James and Sirius fell outside of the boat when it tipped completely upside down, and Remus managed to swim to the boys' side.

"Wait, where's Riley?" Remus asked, panicking. The boys looked around, but Riley was trapped under the canoe, and with no warning to give her time to hold her breath, she was quickly running out of air. Her vision was blurring, her lungs burning, and she slowly gave into the darkness. Suddenly, Remus' golden eyes appeared, shining through the dark of the lake. He spotted Riley, and grabbed her wrist, pulling her out from under the canoe. The two surfaced, Riley gulping in air and inwardly thanking the heavens she did not drown.

"Riley, are you okay?" asked Sirius, concern etched on his handsome face.

"Yeah, Sirius, I'm okay. I just hit my head and I was a little stunned. I'm fine," she said, still taking in the cool air.

"You four, you all righ'?" Hagrid called from his boat at the front of the group.

"Yeah, we're fine!" James yelled back. The three boys managed to tip the boat back over and crawl in, then pull Riley in.

"You sure you're all right? You look a little, I don't know, but it's worrying me," said James, looking at Riley's face.

"I'm fine, I'd do that again in a second, that was fun," she replied, cheerily. After all, it wasn't often that first years capsized. They were already making history, and they hadn't set foot in the castle yet. The boys accepted her answer, and by the time they reached the castle, three of the four were laughing at their experience.

**Awesome! If I were them, I'd be excited. Tipping in your boat would be something to remember. Please review!**


	3. Heart of Blue and Bronze

**Sorry for the wait! Here's your chapter! Warning: There will be insane anger issue-ness in this chapter. I'll say no more.**

Heart of Blue and Bronze

A stern looking witch met the first years at the doors of the castle, escorting them in and leading them to a large pair of double doors.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Soon, you will join your classmates at our Welcoming Feast, but first, you shall be Sorted into your Houses. They are Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each house has its own history and has produced many fine witches and wizards. When you break rules, you shall lose house points, and triumphs will earn them. The House with the most points at the end of each year will win the House cup, which is a great honor. I hope you will do well in helping your House earn those points," Riley suddenly felt herself short of breath. What was happening? It was like the lake all over again. The world began spinning, and Riley began falling over, fainting. James saw Riley, and held out his arms to catch her.

"Riley!" he said, pulling her up and taking in her pale complexion. Riley's lungs filled with air again, and the world stopped spinning. Riley looked into James' worried hazel eyes. The professor had stopped speaking, instead looking at the two first years.

"Are you two all right?" she asked, eyeing them. Riley regained her step, and pulled herself out of James' arms.

"I'm all right, Professor. Just got a little dizzy for a moment," she replied, looking up at the professor.

"Why are you all wet?" questioned the professor.

"Tweedledee and Tweedlemoron tipped the boat," she said. The professor sighed and flicked her wand, drying the four off. Then she motioned them to follow her, and they entered the Great Hall. The ceiling looked like the night sky, lit with both stars and floating candles. Four long tables sat side by side, with several students seated at each one. There was also a long table at the front, with the Headmaster and the other professors that Riley did not know, except for Hagrid. James ad said he was the gamekeeper. On a tall stool sat a very battered, brown wizard's hat. They stopped walking in front of the steps, and the professor walked up beside it with a scroll in her hands. A rip near the seam of the hat opened its mouth and began to sing.

_Welcome back, students of old_

_And students of the new_

_Let this new year unfold_

_As I am to Sort you_

_The Sorting Hat, they call me_

_Since the days of our great founders_

_Those four of great destiny_

_Who dwelled in these very towers_

_Gryffindor so brave and noble_

_Ravenclaw immensely wise_

_Slytherin, a shrewd planner_

_And Hufflepuff, so nice_

_Gryffindor took the bravest_

_Courageous and chivalrous_

_Slytherin took the ambitious_

_Who will do anything to finish_

_Hufflepuff took the kindest_

_Gentle yet hard workers_

_Ravenclaw took the smartest_

_Always looking for answers_

_Now the time has come to put me on_

_But where do you belong_

_I'll look inside your bright young minds_

_This is the Sorting Song!_

The hall burst into applause, Riley clapping fervently as well. So they tried on the hat, and the hat picked a House for you to be in. That did make sense, also very simple.

"Atkinson, Rudolph," called the professor, and said boy walked up to the stool, and the professor placed the Hat on his head. The hat stayed silent for about twenty seconds, then yelled "HUFFLEPUFF!" and everyone cheered.

"Black, Sirius," Sirius shot a nervous smiled at James and then slowly walked up to the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat shouted a moment later.

Sirius joined the Gryffindor table, smiling. He had done it. He was officially the family disgrace, just the way he wanted it. Riley managed to smile at him through the crowd, then carefully observed each Sorting, trying to remember names. Some people were sorted almost instantly, though others sat for a minute or two before the Hat shouted out their House. Riley hoped hers would be over fairly quickly, people whispered and stared while the Hat took its time. Remus was one of those cases, he sat on the stool for nearly three whole minutes, his face scowling, as if he did not like his silent conversation. Suddenly, the Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" and Remus and Riley groaned almost simultaneously, Remus because he was stuck with Sirius and most likely James, and Riley because she would be alone in Ravenclaw. They both groaned again when James went to Gryffindor, then a boy named Peter Pettigrew joined the three boys. Riley hoped that Peter would be a nice friend to Remus, to keep him sane with those two boys.

"Stevens, Riley," Riley's insides lurched, this was it! She walked up and sat on the stool, and let the Hat be placed on her head.

"Ah, very intelligent, you are, definitely a Ravenclaw," said the Hat, inside her mind.

_I just feel sorry for poor Remus, with those two nuts, _Riley thought.

"Ah, don't worry, he'll be happy there. He was almost Ravenclaw, too, but he needed friends, so I sent him there,"

_Yeah, I know,- woah, wait! What do you mean ALMOST Ravenclaw, TOO? I'm definitely a Ravenclaw, you said it yourself!_

"Yes, but you would have so much more potential in Gryffindor,"

_NO! RAVENCLAW!_

"It's _my _decision, you know. Besides, you'll be with your friend. You're loyal, he'll need that. I've made up my mind, you're a GRYFFINDOR!"

Riley choked back a sob. Why not Ravenclaw? She wanted it so badly. Tears in her eyes threatened to fall, but she but on a brave face and walked to the Gryffindor table, sat between Remus and James, and put her head on the table, completely ignoring the cheers she was receiving. Riley didn't hear the rest of the names being called, or where those people went to. She ignored Dumbledore's speech, and didn't even look up when Remus poked her shoulder and told her the food had come. Riley didn't feel like eating. Her vision, for the third time that day, grew blurry, this time from the tears stinging her eyes. She blinked to clear her sight, and they fell down her face. She knew she was being a baby, but she didn't want to be here. She wasn't brave, she was scared to even talk to people. What was that stupid Hat thinking?

"Riley, you should eat. You didn't eat anything on the train, you're going to starve," James' voice said.

"I'm not hungry," she replied, trying not to sound upset, but her stomach growled noisily, and James gently lifted her head off the table. He looked at her tear stained face.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Riley didn't answer, staring at the ground.

"What's wrong?" James tried again, but Riley remained silent.

"Are you upset you didn't get into Ravenclaw?" Riley slowly nodded, and James put an arm around her.

"Don't worry, Riley. You may not be in Ravenclaw, but here you've got friends," James said. Riley just pushed his arm off her shoulders and picked up a chicken leg off the table, wiping away her tears with the sleeve of her robe. James still looked concerned, but turned back to his dinner.

_Why? Why here? Why not at least Hufflepuff? Well, James was right, I do have a friend. Remus. James and Sirius are insane. Maybe I'll make friends with the girls, and things will be okay. _Riley seemed more cheerful after thinking it over, but still refused to speak to the two boys. She watched Dumbledore come up to his golden eagle podium thing, and begin to speak about the rules and such. James and Sirius lit the dungbombs, rolled them across the ground to various points of the Hall, and watched them explode. Then came the fireworks. Just a few simple ones, different lights, different shapes, but then the two boys stood up and walked up to Professor Dumbledore. James took off his hat and placed it on his own head.

"I'm Professor Dumbledore, and I have a weird beard," said James, mocking Dumbledore's voice. The Hall laughed. Sirius took the hat and put it on himself.

"Yes, don't do magic in the corridors, or Filch will try to kill you with his brooms," mocked Sirius. Dumbledore chuckled, and turned to the two boys.

"It seems we have some pranksters. Were you responsible for the random explosions of dungbombs and fireworks?" Dumbledore asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yep," said James, taking the hat off Sirius and holding it out the Headmaster, "Here's your hat, sir," The professor who had brought them into the Great Hall left her seat and walked up to the boys, looking enraged.

"You two boys are in big trouble, doing something like that on your first night," she said.

"Now, now, Professor McGonagall, it is only their first night," said Dumbledore.

"Fine, I'll let them off just this once, but that's it," said Professor McGonagall. She returned to her seat, as did James and Sirius, and Professor Dumbledore dismissed them. Riley tried to distance herself from the two boys while a prefect led them up to the Gryffindor dormitory, but that proved hard as the prefect kept snapping at her to keep up. The common room was nice, and the girl's dormitory was nice with the four-post beds and red curtains.

"Hey are you all right? I saw you crying during the feast," said a girl with red hair, taking the bed next to Riley's.

"Yeah, just upset. I really wanted Ravenclaw," she said, a little too loudly, because another girl walked up and scoffed.

"Who would want to be in Ravenclaw? It's full of nerds, everyone knows this is the best house," the girl said.

"It's not a bad house, it's just for people who are actually smart, unlike you," Riley said, her tone cold.

"Don't talk to me like that!" shrieked the girl. Yet another girl came up beside her.

"You have no right to say that, you don't even hardly know her!" said the second girl.

"She hardly knows me, yet she says I'm a nerd," Riley replied, glaring at the two.

"Well you are! All Ravenclaws and people who want to be in Ravenclaw are school obsessed losers!" shouted the first girl.

"You tell her, Amanda!" said the second girl.

"You know, not only are you insulting me, but you're insulting my best friend," Riley said.

"That brown haired boy? He's so ugly, how could you be friends with him?" Amanda had a disgusted look on her face, and the anger was too much. Riley snapped.

"LOOK IN A MIRROR LATELY?" she roared, lunging at the pointy-faced girl. Riley grabbed her by the shoulders and the two girls fell to the floor, Riley thrashing and punching every inch of Riley she could reach, Amanda screaming and trying to fight Riley off by hitting her with a book.

"Marlene, help me!" screeched Amanda. Marlene rushed forward, trying to pull Riley off Amanda, but Riley kicked Marlene's ankle and she fell. The door burst open and a prefect ran into the room.

"WHAT ARE YOU GIRLS DOING?" she shrieked, looking wildly around the room. Riley was still trying to kill Amanda, Marlene was getting off the ground, Lily was watching the scene in a kind of horrified trance, and the last girl was sitting on her bed, staring at Riley.

"Mary, what's happening?" the prefect turned to the girl. She looked up.

"I-I don't know. I was in the bathroom brushing my hair and when I came back Amanda was talking about Riley's friend, and then Riley yelled at her and tackled her," explained Mary, looking nervously at the raging prefect.

"Will you please fetch Professor Dumbledore? Or McGonagall, or whoever you can find, just get someone in here," the prefect instructed. Mary nodded and ran out of the room. The prefect watched as Amanda escaped Riley and ran over near her bed, throwing the book she was formerly using to fight Riley off at her. Riley dodged the book, and grabbed her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ and threw it at Amanda.

"Hey, no throwing! Calm down!" yelled the prefect, getting frantic. _Hurry up, Mary _she thought. Riley ran at Amanda again, and Amanda punched Riley in the eye, and she fell down.

"NO HITTING! CALM YOURSELVES!" the prefect screamed. Riley stood up and punched Amanda in the eye. Amanda grabbed Riley's book and hit her on the shoulder, and Riley grabbed Amanda's arm and threw her onto the bed. Suddenly a panting and furious McGonagall appeared in the doorway.

"WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME IS GOING ON HERE?" she yelled. At that, Riley and Amanda both looked up from their positions. One thought struck Riley's mind.

_Oh, crap, I am in SO much trouble._

**Dun dun duuuunnnn! What will happen to Riley? What will happen to Amanda? Where is my taco? Just kidding, I don't have a taco! I told you there would be major anger issue-ness in this chapter. Ta-da! I'll post the next chapter early next week.**_  
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	4. Boys

**Yay. Chapter four. Whoopdeedo. **

Boys

The five first years sat in the chairs of Dumbledore's office, two of them sporting black eyes.

"What was going on with you two?" asked Dumbledore, in a calm voice. Riley's heart sank. The disappointment in his eyes was obvious. She didn't want this. She never wanted this. Why did things turn out this way? Riley bit back tears and spoke.

"She was saying I was a nerd for wanting to be in Ravenclaw, so I said she wasn't smart, and then she said that people like me were school obsessed losers, so I told her that she was insulting my best friend as well, and then she called him ugly," Riley took a breath, calming herself and holding in the tears, "and she was disgusted by him, sir. I snapped and attacked her. I'm sorry."

Riley looked down at the ground. She was going to be expelled, for sure. Why did she do that?

"I didn't call her that, sir, she said I was stupid and ugly just because I said Gryffindor was a better House. And she thought I was insulting her friend, I wasn't insulting anybody. She attacked me, sir," Amanda said in a simpering voice. Riley's head jerked up.

"Liar," she hissed, wanting nothing more to give Amanda another black eye.

"Please remain calm, Miss Stevens," said Dumbledore. Lily looked up.

"Professor, Amanda's lying. I saw the whole thing. Riley's telling the truth, they both said what Riley said they said," said Lily.

"No, _you're _lying, Evans. Amanda's view was correct. Riley had no right to say those things, Amanda didn't do anything, and Riley hardly even knew her. That's judgmental," Marlene spoke up.

"Girls," said Dumbledore, "perhaps we should consult Miss McDonald," Mary looked at Dumbledore.

"All I heard was Amanda insulting Riley's friend, then Riley tackling her. I was in the bathroom during most of the conversation," she said. Lily nodded her head.

"Miss Gray, it seems you have two witnesses against you," said Dumbledore.

"Fine! I did it! Riley's telling the truth! But she and her ugly little friend are just nerdy freaks!" snapped Amanda.

"You will want to control yourself. For unprovoked insulting, you will receive three detentions. Miss Stevens, because you were insulted, you will not be suspended. Next time, though, you will be. You will receive three detentions as well. Miss McKinnon, you will receive a detention for lying," Dumbledore said, "Also, you will let those eyes heal by themselves." Riley and Amanda nodded, though Riley's tears were on the bridge of falling. Dumbledore seemed to sense her emotions, and dismissed the other four. Riley kept her head down, trying not to cry.

"Miss Stevens," he said, and Riley broke down. She buried her head in her hands and sobbed. Why did she have to be in stupid Gryffindor? Now she would have to live with those jerks for seven whole years! Stupid Hat. Stupid girls. Stupid school. Her heart was in Ravenclaw, she wanted it so badly.

"Miss Stevens, are you all right?" he asked. Riley raised her head and looked at the Headmaster.

"Why do I have to be in Gryffindor? Why couldn't the Hat have put me in Ravenclaw? I hate those stupid girls, they're so mean!" Riley said between sobs.

"The Hat put you in Gryffindor because you were meant to be in Gryffindor. The Hat has never before been wrong. I saw you crying at the feast. Was that because the Hat refused your wish?" Riley nodded. "I also noticed you sat with Remus Lupin. Is he the best friend you spoke of?" Riley nodded again. "You also sat with James Potter and Sirius Black, am I correct?" Again, she nodded. "Maybe you would be happier if I were to put you with them." Riley looked up.

"What do you mean, Professor?" she asked.

"I mean you could move into the boy's dormitory. The boys did seem to like you very much," he said. Riley was incredulous. This was too good to be true.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really. Of course, Minerva will go insane when I tell her, but we could make special arrangements. We could put curtains around your bed, so you can close them for privacy, and we could add a little room for other privacy needs. Of course, we could not do that all tonight, so you will need to sleep in your own dormitory tonight," explained Dumbledore.

"I'd rather sleep on the couch in the common room, Professor," Riley said.

"If that is your preference, I will not stop you," said Dumbledore, "But the boys will have to agree with it, too. In fact, Mr. Lupin is on his way over here for a meeting with me now, so we can get his opinion on that and he can ask the others. You two can walk back to Gryffindor tower together," said the Headmaster. Riley nodded, and a knock was heard at the door.

"Come in," called Dumbledore. The door opened and Remus stepped in and walked over to the desk.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" he asked, eyeing Riley.

"Yes, there is something I wish to discuss with you, but right now, I must ask you something. How would you feel if Miss Stevens were to move into your dormitory?"

"I think that would be nice. I could see her a lot more and she would be my Ravenclaw-in-the-wrong-house buddy," said Remus, smiling.

"How do you think Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Pettigrew would feel about it?"

"They would love it. You should have seen them talk on the train, they think she's awesome. When we heard the fight, they were going on about how they wanted to be there for her. Peter doesn't know her that well yet, but he told me he thinks she's really nice," Remus said.

"That is excellent, because she will be. I have the approval I need. Accommodations will be made for her tomorrow, and she will move in tomorrow night," said Dumbledore. Riley and Remus both split huge grins.

"Now, Miss Stevens, if you would wait outside," he said, and Riley left the office and went to stand by the stone gargoyle. After a few minutes, Remus joined her, and they began to walk back to Gryffindor tower.

"You all right?" Remus asked.

"Okay, if someone asks me that again, I'm hexing them. That's like the eighth time today," she said.

"Well, you've had a hard day. You nearly drowned in the lake. You didn't hit your head, you told James and Sirius that so they wouldn't worry. Then you nearly faint during McGonagall's speech, then you cry at the feast about being stuck with us, then you get in a huge fight with another girl and come out with a black eye," Remus said.

"You think mine is bad, you should see Gray's," Riley laughed. Remus didn't. He turned to face her.

"Riley, I'm worried about you. You've been through a lot and I've only known you a day. Not even that," he said. Riley just shrugged.

"I'm gonna be okay, Remus. I'm moving in with you. After tomorrow, I won't have to worry about them," she said.

"What about classes? You're both Gryffindors, you'll still have to be around them a lot,"

"Remus, don't worry. Please. I don't want to do this to you,"

"Only if you stop making me need to worry," Riley smiled and hugged him.

"You're so thoughtful," she said. They walked back to the tower. Remus went upstairs and Riley found a blanket on the couch and fell asleep, dreaming about the day.

-LINE GOES HERE-

The next morning, Riley went upstairs while the others were asleep, took a shower, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair, thanked the heavens that her brown hair was only shoulder length and didn't take too long to dry, as a blow dryer would wake up the others, and changed into her robes. She went back downstairs and left the common room. It was fairly early, around 6:30, and she was surprised to see that there were at least 40 other people at breakfast, the boys being some of them. Riley went and took a seat next to Remus.

"Morning," she said, helping herself to some toast and putting grape jelly on a few slices.

"Remus told us you're moving in," said James.

"I am," she said, not bothering to look up.

"That's really cool," Sirius said.

"Glad to see you're up to it," Riley replied.

"All right, I'll bite. What's up with you?" James asked.

"Nothing, why do you ask?"

"Yesterday you talked with us for about six hours. Now today you hardly say anything and you won't even look at us,"

"Your point being?"

"Ugh, I give up,"

Inside, Riley's heart sank a bit. She liked James well enough, but she only talked to him to learn about the Wizarding World, and to pass the time since they had kidnapped her book. Remus was her friend. Not him and Sirius. She would get to know Peter a little more before judging him. She talked to Remus about _Hogwarts: a History_, reading through some of the pages and discussing a bit of it. Other students gradually came in. Professor McGonagall came around, handing out their timetables.

"What do we have today?" James asked, as the five looked at the papers.

"Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, and Herbology," said Sirius.

"It says here we're with the Hufflepuffs in Transfiguration, then the Ravenclaws in Charms, Slytherins with History of Magic, and then Ravenclaws again for Herbology," Peter said. A loud screeching noise came from the ceiling, and everyone looked up. Owl after owl flew in, each stopping before its owner or recipient before taking back off again. Some people gave bits of their breakfast to the owls, and some petted them. A large, intimidating eagle owl stopped in front of Sirius, a red envelope tied to its leg. Sirius groaned, and James patted his back sympathetically.

"Get it over with, mate, it's worse if you let it explode," James said. Explode? Riley wondered what he was talking about. Sirius untied the envelope and opened it. The envelope fell out of his hands and a loud voice filled the Great Hall.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! OUT OF ALL YOUR DISGRACEFUL ELEVEN YEARS, THIS IS THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS AND INFURIATING STUNT YOU HAVE EVER PREFORMED! HOW _DARE _YOU BE SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR! YOU SHALL NOT ASSOCIATE WITH THOSE FILTHY BLOOD TRAITORS AND MUDBLOODS! YOU HAD BETTER ACT LIKE A PURE BLOOD OR I'LL SHIP YOU OFF TO DURMSTRANG! IF I GET A SINGLE WHISPER OF YOU DISGRACING THE NOBLE NAME OF BLACK ANY FURTHER YOU WILL WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN!" the letter burst into flames and writhed away to ash. Sirius glared daggers at it.

"Cheers, mum," he grunted, sweeping the remains onto the floor. Riley was still in shock.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Howler. If you don't open it right away, it explodes, but you still get the message. It's just a lot louder," said Remus.

"We should get to class," noted Riley, looking at the times on the paper and putting it in her bag. The others followed suit and they left the Great Hall. Once they were outside of the big doors, they all stopped.

"Now where do we go?" asked James, looking around. Riley turned around, and spotted a familiar ghost floating through the wall.

"Hey Sir Nicholas!" she called, walking towards the ghost. He turned to her.

"Ah, Miss Stevens, how can I help you?" he asked.

"Can you show me where the Transfiguration classroom is?" she requested. The four boys saw what she was doing and walked up behind her.

"Classroom 1B, on the east side of the courtyard, over that way," he directed, pointing which way he meant. The five young Gryffindors nodded their thanks and headed over to the classroom. They were among the last ones there, but Professor McGonagall was not there yet. James, Sirius, and Peter sat at the back, while Remus and Riley sat at the seat in front of them. They talked for a few minutes until Professor McGonagall walked in and began lecturing them on Transfiguration. Riley took diligent notes for ten minutes until another piece of paper landed on top of them. She read it.

_Hey, Riley, want to pull a prank with us? –James_

_No way. It's the first day, and I've already got detention. I don't need more. –Riley_

_What've you got detention for? –James_

_Me and Gray's punishment for last night. Three detentions each and we have to let our eyes heal on their own. –Riley_

_Already having detention isn't a good excuse for not pranking. –James_

_I don't want any more! I'm ashamed of what I did last night, I don't need more detentions as a reminder of the bad things I've done here! –Riley_

_Riley, calm down, it's okay. –James_

_No, it's not. I'm not helping you. Besides, you pulled a prank last night! And Professor McGonagall said you would get detention next time you did something like that. –Riley_

_Professor Minnie will never know it was us. –Sirius_

_Minnie? Really Sirius? –Riley_

_Her first name IS Minerva. –Sirius_

_You two are going to get in so much trouble this year. If you keep Gryffindor from winning the House Cup, I will hex you each so creatively that you'll get put in the Hospital Wing! –Riley_

"Stevens! Black! Potter! Are you passing notes?" McGonagall's harsh voice reminded Riley they were in class. Riley groaned and put her head on her desk. They were caught. Stupid boys.

"Perhaps one of you would care to read it to the class," said the Professor. Riley glared at the two boys.

"How about you, Potter?" James took the note from Sirius and nervously stood up. He read the note, beginning to end, and Riley forced herself to keep from jabbing her wand in his eye. She was going to get in trouble, and it was all their fault. _Chill Riley, you need to get along with them. You're moving in with them , you need to go back to how it was yesterday, on the train. Weren't they your friends? _Riley sighed. As soon as they stopped being morons, she would befriend them. She saw James had finished, and McGonagall took ten points from Gryffindor. Riley inwardly groaned, but was glad she didn't have detention. Any more would be unbearable. After class, the boys were complaining about how they wouldn't get to do their prank. Riley just glared at them.

"What's got you so mad?" asked James, as they walked around the courtyard.

"You two morons. We lost ten points from Gryffindor today, I bet we didn't even have them. We could be in the negatives, it's the first day! Don't you care about any of it?"

"Relax, Riley. You got them back for being the first person to turn your match into a needle," said James.

"That's not the point. You need to be more responsible,"

"What is with you lately? Ever since the Sorting, you've been all crazy,"

"I'm crazy? You're the one who let dumb bombs and fireworks off and then impersonated Dumbledore! That's bloody insane, if you ask me!"

"First, it's dungbombs, not dumb bombs, second, you came up with the Dumbledore thing in the first place!"

"Leave me alone. I don't need to fight with you as well. By the end of the year the whole bloody year will hate me, if not the whole school," snapped Riley, walking away. James ran after her.

"What do you mean? We don't hate you," he said.

"Seems like it,"

"Why can't you go back to being our friend?"

"Why can't you go back to not getting in trouble constantly? It's barely been a day since we got here and Professor McGonagall has yelled at you twice. Just stop," Riley stormed away so James couldn't follow her, leaving him standing them, confused.

What was going on with her?

**Riley's a little insane right now, huh? Please review! Reviews are always appreciated. And possibly eaten.**


	5. Coming Together

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS WEIRDNESS. AND A SOCK MONKEY.  
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Coming Together

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Riley avoided the boys at lunch and classes, ignoring the notes that were shoved onto her desk and only walked faster in the hallways when she heard them calling her name. Only at dinner did she allow them to sit with her, but she kept her eyes on her book.

"Are you still reading that?" asked Sirius. Riley nodded.

"Are you going to talk to us?" he asked again. Riley shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you mad at us?" Riley didn't answer. She didn't know how to. A few hours ago, she would have said yes, but having cooled down now, she wasn't sure what her answer was.

"Why won't you speak to us?" This time the question came from James. Riley sighed and looked up.

"This is so complicated," she whispered.

"What is?" he asked.

"Us," was all she said, "I'll see you back in the dorm." Riley picked up her book and walked out of the Great Hall. She wasn't that hungry, anyways. The walk up to Gryffindor tower only took about three minutes.

"Patronus," she said to the Fat Lady.

"Correct,"

The Fat Lady's portrait swung open, and Riley went inside. The common room was empty, thankfully. There was a flight of stairs on the right, and one on the left. Yesterday she walked up the flight on the right to the girl's dormitories, which was a huge mistake, going to Gray and McKinnon. But from now on, she was taking the one on the left. Riley smiled and walked up the stairs to her new dorm. She opened the door with a sign indicating the first year room and walked inside. Riley laughed at the sight. Three of the beds were unmade, trunks were open and pajamas were on the floor. One bed stood at the back of the room, between a made bed(probably Remus') and a bed that was hopelessly messy. Her trunk already sat at the foot of her bed, and there were curtains around her bed, and another set of curtains about two feet away from her bed, but both were open. A door stood next to her bed. Riley opened it and walked inside. It was a simple room, just a stool, a mirror, and a little table. Fine enough for Riley. She retrieved her pajamas from her trunk and put them on, then went back into the dorm and climbed into bed. Riley propped up the pillow against the headboard and picked up her book. She was finally on the second chapter. After a while, the boys came in and changed into their pajamas, and then Sirius and Peter came and stood in front of her bed. Riley looked up.

"Yes?" she asked.

"What's up with you?" asked Sirius.

"Just confused," she replied.

"You're not going to talk with us, are you?" James asked. Riley shook her head.

"Not until I have things figured out," she answered, then pushed them out of her "zone". James went to his bed, the one on her left side, and Sirius on the other side of James. Riley pulled both her bed curtains shut and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>Two weeks passed for the five Gryffindors, Riley hardly speaking to anyone but Remus. She constantly studied and read books, and whenever Sirius and James asked her if she wanted to do something(probably a prank or something stupid) she threatened them with her wand. Sirius and James were jealous of Remus. They always hung out, reading and studying or whatever, and always sat together during classes and meals. James always said she would warm up to them, but Sirius wanted to do something about it. Riley was awesome, and so was Remus. They would be great friends. Sirius had an idea. He presented it to James, and the two of them planned.<p>

Saturday night found the five eating dinner, Remus and Riley discussing a chapter of _Hogwarts: a History, _Sirius and James arguing about Quidditch, and Peter eating like a normal person. Nobody had any idea of what was about to happen. The two raven haired boys drew their wands and flicked them at the direction of the Slytherin table. Almost instantly, every Slytherin had green paint splattered all over them. Empty paint buckets hung from the ceiling, and the Slytherins began to laugh uncontrollably. Many fell off their seats, clutching their sides and some banged their fists on the table, flinging food everywhere. Dumbledore rose from his seat, looking around the Hall.

"Who did this?" he commanded. Sirius, James, and Peter raised their hands, then Sirius reached over and forced up Remus' hand, while James put up Riley's.

"What did you do to make them laugh like that?" he asked, amusement twinkling in his eyes, though his face was slightly stern looking.

"Laughing potion," said Sirius, with a bright grin on his face. His plan was working.

"You five realize you are getting detention, don't you?" McGonagall came up behind Dumbledore, glaring at them. Three of them nodded their heads, while the other two just sat in a kind of horrified trance.

"Tomorrow night at eight. You will clean the trophy rooms with Mr. Filch," she said, before returning to her seat. Dumbledore waved his wand, and the paint disappeared. Another wave, and the Slytherins stopped laughing. Riley and Remus glared at Sirius and James, but they just smiled. Step 1 complete.

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe you did that," Riley said, as she polished a trophy, "me and Remus did nothing in that. Why would you drag us in?"<p>

"Because we wanted to share our first detention with you two," replied Sirius, still smirking from last night.

"Well, this is my fourth, and I'm just glad I'm Muggleborn, or my parents would have sent me a Howler by now," snapped Riley.

"If you're mad, come and get me," Sirius said. Riley turned around and walked over towards Sirius. She hit him with her rag.

"Tag. You're it," she said, then returned to polishing. But with those three simple words, the greatest friendship Hogwarts ever saw began. Also the most insane game of tag. Sirius turned to James, grinning. He tagged him with his rag.

"Tag! You're it," he said, and then ran. James went and tagged Peter, who tagged Remus, who tagged Sirius just to get him to go away. Sirius tagged Riley, who tagged Peter, who tagged James, who tagged Remus. Remus tagged Peter, who tagged Riley, who tagged James, who tagged Sirius, who tagged Remus. By then Remus saw he was not getting out of this game, so he tagged James, who tagged Riley, who tagged Sirius, who tagged Peter, who tagged Remus. After that, the five lost track of who was it, so everyone began randomly tagging each other. By the time Filch came to get them, the five were running around like deranged lunatics and they had polished about 9 trophies.

Fortunately, they escaped further detention.

A week went by in absolute paradise for the five Gryffindors. They explored the castle, discovering some new places and passages, watched one of the Quidditch practices(for Gryffindor, of course), did homework(Riley and Remus), hexed Snape(Sirius and James), and blew up a cauldron in potions(Peter). They all helped each other with homework and got along greatly.

Saturday the five friends sat in the common room, James and Sirius playing wizard's chess, Riley helping Remus with his Potions essay, and Peter watching the chess game.

"Hey guys, I got an idea," Sirius said, watching his pawn take out one of James' pawns. Remus and Riley looked up from the essay.

"What is it?" asked Riley, warily. Sirius with an idea was never a good thing.

"A prank war!" he said, with the tone of a five year old on Christmas. Riley's eyes widened.

"A what?" she asked.

"We all plan a bunch of pranks. We have one day to plan, then we have six days to pull them off. We do as many pranks as possible, but only on each other. We keep a list of what we've done, and then when we get busted, we give McGonagall our own list. Whoever gets the most detentions wins, and the rest of us have to wear tutus and fairy wings for a week," explained Sirius. James and Peter looked excited. Remus looked scared. Riley was fascinated. That actually sounded fun. Plus she didn't want to wear a tutu, and she knew the boys would make her join in.

"So today and tomorrow we plan, then Monday through Saturday we prank," she said. The boys nodded their heads, except for Remus.

"Riley, are you insane? Only a week ago were you ready to kill Sirius for getting you into detention, now you're willing to try and get as many as you can?"

"It's all for fun, Remoose," she replied, grinning wickedly. The others laughed at the new nickname.

"If I join in, will you guys never call me that again?" he asked, sighing. They nodded their heads, and the planning commenced. Riley and Remus went off to the library, Riley to plan, Remus to finish his essay and then maybe plan. The others wouldn't be going easy on him. He couldn't go easy on them. James and Sirius finished their chess game while Peter planned, and then Sirius and James went separate ways to go plan their pranks.

Needless to say, the next week at Hogwarts would be an insane one.

The next day, Riley went exploring, looking for secret passages to help her in escapes and hiding, planning pranks as she walked. She was near the dungeons, studying a hidden staircase behind a tapestry of some goblins, when she saw it. There was a large portrait of food, an apple, a pear, a banana, and a clump of grapes in a bowl. Riley walked up to it, and poked the pear with her quill.

It giggled.

Riley began tickling it with her quill, and it turned into a green door handle. She grabbed it, pulled, and entered a portrait hole like the one at Gryffindor tower, only larger. There she saw a humongous room, full of little goblin-like creatures working. There was a lot of food.

_This must be the kitchens, _Riley thought. One of the things came up to her.

"Can we get something for you, miss?" it asked. Riley looked down at the creature. It was kind of cute.

"Is this the kitchens?"

"Yes, miss, it is,"

"Cool. I'll have to share this with the others. What's your name?" asked Riley.

"Tinky, miss, Tinky the house elf," it replied. So they were house elves. She'd have to ask James about them.

"I'm Riley. Do you have any cherries here?" she asked. Tinky nodded and went to get Riley some cherries. She returned with a big bowl of juicy, dark red cherries, and Riley put the cherries in her bag, thanked Tinky, and left. She returned to Gryffindor tower and told the boys about where she'd been.

"We should have meals there during the prank war. That, way, teachers can't bust us at meals, and we can have some peace. We should also declare mealtimes a prank-free time," she said. The boys nodded and agreed. They split up after that, Sirius and James to go see the kitchens themselves, Peter to the common room to plan pranks, and Remus and Riley stayed up in the dorm, eating cherries and planning.

"So, Remus, ready to wear a tutu?" Riley asked.

"Only if you are," Remus replied.

"As if. You and I are the smartest ones. One of us is going to win that war," said Riley.

"Yeah, but Sirius and James have a lot of pranking knowledge," Remus said.

"You're right. Well, I've got a major prank that will knock your socks off," she said.

"You have fun with that,"

"Oh, I will,"

**Haha! I lied about the sock monkey! But there might be one in future chapters o_O**

**Review and Tinky will give you some cherries! Nah, just kidding, I already ate them. But review! Review for the sock monkey! And tutus!  
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	6. Driving Everyone Insane

**Here's chapter six! Sorry about the wait, I'm getting a little behind on writing. Also, the prank war will be a little suckish, because I'm not good at writing that stuff. Sorry.**

Driving Everyone Insane

The five friends woke up Monday morning, to have everyone but Sirius covered in green goo. Riley screamed and ran at Sirius, using a charm to make his hair turn pink. She then proceeded to turn James' hair blue, Peter's hair orange, and Remus' hair green. The boys growled at her, but on the terms of the game, they couldn't remove the spell. The rest of the morning proceeded that way. One would prank, one would get mad and hex the other one, then the one would hex everyone else. By the time the five Gryffindors got down to breakfast, everyone but Riley hopped like a bunny, everyone but Peter had an L on their forehead, everyone but Remus had an individual message written on the back of their robes**[1]**, and everyone but James had a mustache**[2]**. After lunch, the pranks began getting intense. Riley had slipped Bulbadox powder into Peter's robes, Remus had doused Sirius with Stinksap, and James let loose a bunch of enraged and slightly psychotic bunnies on the other four. Sirius got revenge by making James dance in the Great Hall, like a ballerina. After the five ate dinner in the kitchens, they went back to their dorm and slept.

The rest of the week went along with insanity and chaos, pranks being unleashed in every direction, especially on Saturday with no classes for the five. Sunday morning, however, Professor McGonagall stormed into the Gryffindor common room and dragged the five out and up to Professor Dumbledore's office. They had their lists in hand.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU FOUR THINKING? EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!" shrieked the furious Professor.

"Well, you see, Professor, we were having a prank war," explained Sirius, as if talking to a three year old.

"Individual stuff, we all kept track of what we did," continued James.

"We've got our lists right here. We wanted to get proper recognition for our achievements," finished Sirius. The five young Gryffindors handed the Professor their lists.

"Your achievements include unleashing crazed rabbits and trapping someone in an invisible box**[3]**?" McGonagall asked. The five nodded, Remus a little less enthusiastically than the others. Professor McGonagall looked over the lists, then turned to the five insane troublemakers.

"Black, two weeks of detention. Potter, a week. Pettigrew, three. Lupin, a week. Stevens, two weeks," she said. Sirius and Riley's face lit up. They won! Remus, James, and Peter groaned. Tutus and fairy wings. Just fantastic. The Professor dismissed the five, and they went back to their common room and up to their dormitory. All five sat on their individual beds and discussed the events of the week.

"Hey, since the prank war's over, we can remove the spells and stuff, right?" asked Riley, fingering her wand. The others nodded in agreement, and pulled out their wands. Riley removed all of her spells on the others, crazy hair color, bunny hopping, purple skin spots, etc. Remus smirked and vanished the messages on the other's robes. Once they had all been deprankified, Riley pulled from her trunk three tutus and sets of fairy winks, both violently pink.

* * *

><p>"Finally, our tutu fairy wing week is over!" announced James, taking a seat next to Riley and Sirius in the Great Hall. Remus and Peter nodded.<p>

"You guys looked cute," mocked Riley. James stuck his tongue out at her.

"So, ex-ballerina fairies, what do you want to do today?" asked Sirius, jellying a piece of toast.

"If you guys don't shut up about those stupid costumes…" James trailed off, and then took a sip of pumpkin juice.

"Maybe we will, maybe we won't, right Sirius?" said Riley.

"Yes, Jamesie, we could, or we could torment you for the rest of your life," replied Sirius.

"Don't call me Jamesie, Siri," James said. Remus, Peter, and Riley snorted.

"Shut up, Remy," snapped Sirius. If there was anything he hated, it was being called Siri.

"What about Petey over there?" Remus asked mockingly. Peter scowled.

"It's not fair that we can't nickname Riley," he muttered, stabbing his eggs with his fork.

"We don't need to," James spoke up, and evil grin on his face. Riley's eyes widened.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked, hoping to the high heavens he didn't know what her dad called her.

"I think you know exactly what I mean, Ri-bear," he said. Riley blushed brilliantly red.

"Do NOT call me that, James Potter, or I will hex you into next week!" she yelled, pulling out her wand and pointing it at James' throat.

"All right, all right," James surrendered, going back to his toast. Riley smiled and put her wand back in her hoodie pocket.

"So, what've we got for detention tonight?" asked Riley, trying to change the subject.

"Trophy room duty," replied Sirius, with a reminiscent smile, "the place where our friendship formed." Riley laughed. It had been where they all decided to get along and not push each other away. Well, if decided meant they went running around knocking trophies over and hitting each other with rags, then yes, they decided.

"I'm not sure all those pranks were worth it, though. I'm getting really behind on my homework. Professor Winters is always on my tail for that essay on hexes," Riley said.

"Just copy off Remus, that's what I did," Sirius said.

"Hey!" Remus said. Sirius just shrugged and ate some bacon.

The next morning, Riley woke up and pulled on her Hogwarts robes quickly in her private room, then went into the bathroom and brushed her hair and teeth. When she came out, the others were already up and putting on their ties, finding left shoes, etc. All except for Remus.

"Is Remus not up yet?" she asked, loading her bag with her textbooks for today's classes.

"He just snapped at us and told us to go on without him. He said he'd catch up," replied James, who was trying to tame his wild hair. Riley walked over to Remus' bed and shook him gently.

"Rems, wake up," she said softly, poking his chest. Riley couldn't see his face, it was covered by the blankets.

"M sleeping," he mumbled through his blanket.

"No more sleeping. You need to get up now," said Riley.

"Go away," growled Remus.

"Are you okay, Remus?" she asked.

"Leave me alone," he snapped.

"Riley, we're going to breakfast. Are you coming?" asked James.

"You guys go. I'm going to try and get Remus up," she replied. James nodded and the three boys exited the room.

"Remus," said Riley. She pulled down his blankets and tried not to gasp. Remus was pale and sickly looking, even more than usual.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Remus opened his golden eyes and looked at her.

"I'm fine. Go on, I'll catch up," he said, trying to turn over, but Riley put her hand on his shoulder.

"No, there's something wrong with you, and I'm not leaving until you get up or tell me what it is," said Riley, crossing her arms. Remus sighed.

"I'm just tired," said Remus.

"No, that's not it. Tell me, or I will drag you to the Hospital Wing and get Madame Pomfrey to tell me," she replied.

"Please just go, Riley," he begged. Riley was confused. Usually Remus was up with the rest of them. She wasn't sure he was sick, but something about him was definitely wrong.

"No, I won't go. Get up and we'll go to breakfast," she said.

"I'm not hungry,"

"Then what's wrong with you? Please, Remus, you know you can trust me," she said. Remus just looked away.

"It's nothing. Go down to the common room, I'll meet you there when I'm dressed," he replied. Riley nodded and stood.

She picked up her book bag and walked down to the common room, then sat on the couch near the fireplace. After about twenty minutes, Remus trudged down the stairs, fully dressed, but still looking like crap. Riley decided it was best not to say anything, so they walked to Transfiguration, Riley hoping that they would make it on time. Fortunately, when they got to the classroom, Professor McGonagall was nowhere to be seen, so Riley slipped in between Sirius and James, and Remus went to sit by Peter. McGonagall came in moments later, and began lecturing them about a new form of Transfiguration that they were going to begin today. Riley took notes, but Sirius and James slipped her a note.

_How did you get Remus up? –James_

_I don't really know. He was looking all pale and stuff, so I asked him if he was sick. He argued with me for a while, but when I asked him to tell me what was wrong, he just said it was nothing and said to go down to the common room and that he would meet me there. –Riley_

_I wonder what's wrong with him. –Sirius_

_It's probably nothing. He could just have a cold or something. Or maybe he hasn't been eating. You know he spent all weekend in the library, trying to get his homework done because we spent every night in detention, so he couldn't work on it then. –Riley_

_If that's what he's been doing, we need to knock some sense into him. –James_

_Guys, be nice. He's not feeling well. We'll get the truth out of him eventually. –Riley_

_Well, he's out of detention now, so he can eat regularly and all that junk. –James_

_I hope he feels better soon. –Sirius_

_Yeah. I've wanted to talk to him about something, but I think it can wait until he's better. –James_

_What do want to talk to him about? –Riley_

_Oh, just some spells I thought we could learn, or something. You know, for pranking purposes. –James_

_You don't mean that Snape kid, do you? –Riley_

_You have to admit, Riley, he's ugly. –Sirius_

_Can't you guys ever be nice to Slytherins? –Riley_

_NO! –James_

_No way. All my family are Slytherins, remember? Pure evil! –Sirius_

_Slytherin people just have a bad reputation. There are prejudices against them because of people like your cousins. –Riley_

_All Slytherins are evil. –Sirius_

"Black! Potter! Stevens! This is the second time I've caught you passing notes. Unless you stop, it'll be detention," snapped the angry Transfiguration professor. All three looked up. She was coming to read the note. Riley thought quickly and ate it.

"Stevens, why did you just eat that parchment?" asked an incredulous McGonagall. Riley swallowed with difficulty and answered.

"I thought it was my notes. My mistake," she replied.

"Why would you eat your notes?" asked McGonagall.

"Because, my dear Minnie, by eating these notes, the words will be inside of me, so I can remember them and all that stuff instead of needing to look at it," McGonagall facepalmed, then went back to the front of the classroom and continued her lecture, giving the young Gryffindor strange looks. Riley just smiled.

The next morning happened the same way Monday had, Remus refusing to get up.

"Come on, Remus. Wake up," persisted James. The four were gathered around Remus' bed, trying to get him out of bed. Suddenly, he pulled back the blankets, revealing his even paler than yesterday face.

"Remus, are you sure you're not sick?" asked Riley, concerned for her best friend. Remus just scowled.

"Why don't you stay in bed today, and see if you feel better?" suggested James.

"Fine, if you prats leave and let me sleep," snapped Remus. The others left, and Remus curled back under the sheets.

"I'm really starting to worry about Remus. Should we take him to the Hospital Wing?" asked Riley, as the four walked to the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"We should wait and see if he gets better. If he's not better by tomorrow, we'll take him," said James.

"Do you think we should have a group name?" asked Sirius.

"Well that came out of nowhere. Why do we need a group name?" said Riley.

"Because we're a group. Besides, we can sign our pranks with it," Sirius said.

"Good idea. Any ideas?" said James.

"The Prankmasters!" suggested Riley. Sirius and James gave her weird looks.

"Maybe we should ask Remus when he's better and see if he's got any good ideas," said Sirius. Riley rolled her eyes. The four friends finished eating quickly, and went off to Defense Against the Dark Arts, passing notes through Professor Winters' lecture about defensive spells.

_Masters of Mischief? –Riley_

_No! –Sirius_

_Map Markers? –Riley_

_No way. How about James and the Less Awesome Wizards and Witch? –James_

_No way. –Sirius _

_This is impossible. –Riley_

The four spent the rest of the day arguing about names. After lessons and exploring the castle, they went back to the boy's dormitory only to find Remus gone.

"Where did he go?" asked James.

"You guys, relax. Remus probably just went to the hospital wing," said Riley.

"Then let's go see him," Sirius said.

"No, he would just tell us to go away. Let's give him some privacy, he probably just went so we couldn't coddle him," assured Riley. Sirius nodded in agreement. The four friends changed into their pajamas and went to sleep, the full moon shining at them through the window.

**[1] Riley's message: Ravenclaw reject**

**Sirius' message: I'm a girl**

**James' message: Mommy's boy**

**Peter's message: Lame**

**[2] The mustaches were fake Muggle ones stuck with a charm. First years couldn't implant a real one on someone's face, in canon, Ron did that in sixth year. They're not that advanced. I hate that in some stories, they put spells and pranks that are waaaaayyyy beyond their year. Like conjuring spells.**

**[3] The invisible box was just a box that had been invisibilified. I'm probably boring you with these notes, I just want to make things clear, and not imply that they're like super genius students. You know how mimes do that thing, invisible box? Trapping Sirius in a box was a Muggle joke of Riley's.**

**Okay, there you go! Please review! Bob the llama wants you to. Dooooo it.  
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	7. Evans and Snivellous

**Hey everybody, here's the next chapter. I'm really sorry about the wait, I completely forgot. I'm so sorry! Please don't hurt me! *hides from rabid angry mob***

Evans and Snivellous_  
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_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_Hogwarts is great so far. I've made four really good friends, James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. Classes are fun. My favorites are Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration. I like Potions best, though. My best class is Charms. Me and my friends have been exploring the castle a lot. We've discovered a bunch of new things. I'm in detention a lot. I got detention the first night for fighting with another girl. Don't be mad, it was because she was insulting me, the House I used to want to be in, Ravenclaw, and Remus. I got detention another night for Sirius, James, and Peter pulling a prank and saying that me and Remus did it too. But that detention was a good thing, we had fun and became friends. Then we had a prank war, to see who could get the most detentions for their pranks. Me and Sirius won, we both got two weeks. The others had to wear tutus and fairy wings for a week since they lost. This Friday we get to have flying lessons. Apparently we fly on brooms. I'm really excited, James and Sirius have told me all about Quidditch. I'm sending you a rulebook, I can't explain it. James plays Chaser, Sirius plays Beater, Remus says if he ever did play he'd probably play Keeper, Peter doesn't play, but I really want to play Seeker. Sounds like a great position. I'm also sending you a copy of _Which Broomstick_ so you can look over some of the brooms I'd like to get next year. I've circled some good ones in red. Also, I might not come home for Christmas. Sirius' parents say he's only allowed home for the summer, so we're probably all going to stay here for Christmas. James' parent say Christmas at Hogwarts is a great thing, and you should stay over break at least once. If it's okay with you, I'll be staying. I know what you're thinking, Christmas isn't for another two months, but I just wanted to let you know now, because the plans may change. I'll write you again soon._

_Lots of love,_

_Riley_

Riley finished her letter and tied it to Amber's leg. She gave her an owl treat and carried her over to the window, letting her loose and watching her brown feathers fade into the late afternoon sky. The door slammed behind her. Riley looked around and saw Sirius and James dragging in a clearly irritated Remus.

"Hey, Remus," she greeted him, putting away her quill and capping her ink bottle.

"That's all you have to say? This guy's been missing and didn't tell us where he went!" said James.

"Fine. I'll ask him. Remus, did you go to the hospital wing yesterday?" asked Riley.

"Yeah, I did. How'd you know?"

"You were sick. That's the first place I'd go. And let me guess, you didn't tell us because you didn't want us to coddle you?"

"I'm still shocked you're not Ravenclaw, brain like yours," replied Remus, sitting on his bed.

"See guys? I was right," Riley said.

"Yeah, yeah, well now that Remus is better, let's think of a group name," said Sirius.

"Honestly, I can't have a moment of peace with all your maraudering," grumbled Remus. Sirius and James exchanged a look.

"That's awesome, Remy!" exclaimed Sirius.

"What is?" asked Remus.

"Maraudering!" said James.

"So you suggest we have our name be Marauderingers?" Riley questioned.

"No, the Marauders!" Sirius said.

"I like it," said Peter.

"All in favor of Marauders, say 'Siri-poo'!" laughed Riley.

"Siri-poo!" said all five Marauders, Sirius with a glare at Riley.

* * *

><p>A week went by with the Marauders settling into ordinary life, with the exception of constant battle with Severus Snape. James, Sirius, and Peter hated him, and Riley and Remus just didn't care for him. They never hexed him or taunted him, unlike James and Sirius. Monday afternoon, James hexed Snape's hair pink as they were leaving History of Magic. Snape whirled around, glaring at James.<p>

"What's your problem, Potter?" sneered Snape. James smirked.

"You, Snivellus," he replied hotly.

"Oh, great comeback, Potter, you're so mature, you and your stupid little gang," snapped the Slytherin, pulling out his wand and changing his hair back to black.

"Aw, I think your hair looked good," laughed Sirius, stepping up next to James.

"You are the most arrogant pair of Gryffindors I've ever met," Snape growled. James and Sirius shrugged and walked away, followed by Peter and Remus.

"You go on, guys, I forgot my quill," said Riley, stepping back into the classroom. She found her quill which had apparently been stepped on beneath somebody's chair. Great. That was one of her best ones. Grumbling about her quill, Riley walked out into the hall only to come face to face with Snape.

"What do you want, Snape?" she asked, putting her broken quill in her bag.

"Nothing you can give me, mudblood," he snapped. Riley was taken aback. Sirius had told her mudblood was an incredibly nasty word for Muggle born, after she heard the word in his mother's Howler and asked what it meant. Even coming from an enemy, it felt like she had been slapped in the face.

"What did I ever do to you?" she asked, voice quivering.

The answer was nothing. She had never done anything to him. Riley walked around him and broke into a run, heading to her favorite tree near the lake, where the Marauders sometimes sat and talked. This was like the first day at Hogwarts all over again. Everything was confusing, her mind was spinning and her emotions raging. Stupid Slytherin with his stupid prejudices and slimy git friends and attitude. Why did she care so much about what he thought, anyway? Because it wasn't just him. There were so many people that thought like that. Sirius came from a family like that. Riley sat down next to the tree, burying her head in her hands. It seemed like forever as she sat there, listening to the babble of conversation coming from the castle, the birds calling overhead, and the rippling noises of the lake. Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and Riley looked up into the eyes of James.

"Riley, where did you go? We went back to the classroom, but we couldn't find you. What happened?" he asked, sitting next to her. The other three Marauders were walking over, settling themselves in their usual spots around the tree. Riley lifted up her face, allowing them to see the tears that stained it.

"I-it was S-snape. H-he called me a m-mudblood. I d-didn't want to t-talk to anybody after that," stuttered Riley, trying to clear her mind and be calm. All at once, the four boys jumped up, masks of anger on their faces.

"He did what!" growled Sirius.

"Stupid git," hissed James, pounding his fist into the tree, then pulling it back a second later, nursing it to his chest. Riley stood up and wiped away her tears.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but will you guys prank him for me?" she asked. The boys nodded, James getting an evil grin on his face.

"I have just the thing," he said.

The next morning, Severus Snape walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, unaware of the word in big red letters on his forehead and back of his robes. He hadn't bothered to check his hair, either, so he was also oblivious to his bushy hair in a sort of afro style sticking up all over his head. More to that, it was rainbow colored. He sat down at the Slytherin table, ignoring the stares of his classmates. It wasn't until Theodore Nott, a third year, told him was when he snapped into Angry Snape Mode. The word on his forehead and robes was "Snivellous", and people were beginning to mock his hair, calling him a clown. The Marauders, however, pretended not to notice the extravagant appearance of their fellow first year, instead laughing inside their heads while quietly talking about how funny it was. Suddenly, a swish of red hair appeared behind Remus. The five looked up to see a very angry Lily Evans, giving them death glares.

"Hello, Evans. Lovely morning," greeted James cheerfully.

"You did that, didn't you? You're the only ones who call him by that foul nickname, it must have been you," snapped the redhead. The five nodded.

"Why? What did he do to you?" Lily growled.

"He called me a mudblood, Evans," replied Riley, looking down at her plate. Lily's eyes widened.

"What? When?"

"Yesterday, after History of Magic," answered the Marauder.

"I'll talk to him about it, but could you please remove that stuff from him?" she requested. Riley nodded, and James and Sirius pulled out their wands and muttered the counter spells, and Snape returned to normal. Lily nodded her thanks and went back to her seat.

However, it wasn't until Friday that Lily managed to talk to him, while he was sitting out on the grounds, reading a book.

"Hey, Sev, I want to talk to you," she said, walking up to the boy. Snape looked up from his book.

"What is it, Lils?" he asked, motioning for her to sit next to him. Lily sat and continued.

"Did you call Stevens that rude word for Muggle born?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because when I went up to her and her friends, they said they pranked you because you called her that," Snape's Slytherin mind quickly formulated a plan.

"I did, but only because the stupid girl hexed me,"

"What?"

"I said she hex-"

"I heard you, I just can't believe she wouldn't tell me about that part. Stinking little liar, hexing you for no reason. I'll talk to her. Seems like I've been doing a lot of that lately, talking to people about what other people have said," And with that, the vehement Gryffindor stormed back to the castle, stopping only at the portrait hole.

"Patronus," she said, to the Fat Lady, who nodded and swung open. Lily stomped into the common room, and spotted Riley, who was working at a table on an essay.

"Riley Stevens, you liar! Why didn't you tell me about what you did, just telling me about what Snape did?" Lily began ranting as soon as she reached the other girl, mostly loud and angry words that Riley didn't understand, occasionally catching words like "lies" and "hexing" and "bully".

"Woah, wait! What's this about? Did you talk to Snape?" Riley interrupted. Lily's face contorted, turning redder and even more angry.

"YES I VERY WELL TALKED TO HIM AND HE TOLD ME ALL ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WHEREAS YOU DIDN'T AND I WAS ON YOUR SIDE THAT FIRST NIGHT EVEN THOUGH YOU WENT TOTALLY BERSERK JUST BECAUSE OF A FEW INSULTS AND I HELPED YOU NOT GET IN TROUBLE BUT YOU SO DESERVED IT ESPECIALLY WITH YOU AND YOUR BULLYING FRIENDS ALWAYS PICKING ON HIM!" It was like a Howler. Except louder. Riley's eyes watered up with some things Lily said. The world was against her this week. She had even considered Lily a friend, her only girl friend she had. Now all that was gone. She couldn't sit back and take this. It was like Amanda again, only this time she was insulting all of her friends, and screaming insults at her for the entire House to hear.

"JUST SHUT UP, EVANS!" Riley screamed, and ran upstairs, accidently knocking over an ink well, and it shattered against the floor. Once in the safety of her dorm, Riley broke down on her bed and cried.

**Poor Riley. Maybe some reviews will make her feel better! And, just so you all know, I'm going on vacation this Friday and I'll be back around late next week. I won't have access to the Internet or anything, but as soon as I get home I'll post. It stinks that I'm missing the HP7P2 premiere, but Mom says there's a slight chance we'll get to see it on vacation, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. **

**Review please! *does puppy dog eyes***


	8. Best Friends

**Ohmigosh! I'm sososososo sorry! After vacation, I had lots to do, and I'm really really sorry for the lateness. I'll post another chapter soon, though. Here you go!**

Best Friends**  
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"Riley?"

"Riley…"

"Riley!"

"RILEY!"

"RILEY STEVENS!"

"WHAT!"

"Are you OK?" Riley gave James her best death-glare, but the effect was ruined by her tearstained face and red eyes.

"What happened?" asked Sirius.

"Evans," she replied, her tone of voice cold and bitter.

"What did she do?" asked Remus.

"She came into the common room, I was just working on my essay, and she just started yelling at me. I asked her if she had talked to Snape, and she blew up in my face. I told her to shut up and ran up here. I told you, everyone's gonna wind up hating me," Riley put her face back into her pillow, her small body shaking with violent, muffled sobs. James' fury grew. How dare she make Riley like this? Sirius and James exchanged a look. They were going to get back at her, that was for sure.

Riley stayed in the dorm the entire weekend, not even leaving to watch Gryffindor Quidditch practice with the others, even though she really wanted to. She never left to go eat, she just sat in her bed, reading, and thinking about Lily.

The boys, however, planned their revenge. Remus had taught them a special spell he found in the library, and they spent all week practicing it. Monday morning came, Riley only leaving once the boys promised they would be with her. The five friends had sat at their usual seats, waiting for Lily to arrive. Riley, who was working on a Charms essay, did not notice the other Marauders' looks of anticipation. Finally, about twenty minutes before class started, the boys spotted the redhead walking into the Great Hall. Once she had seated herself next to Mary McDonald, James nodded to Peter, Remus, and Sirius, who drew their wands. Remus pointed his towards a particularly large pancake and muttered an incantation. The pancake promptly flew up and slammed into Lily's face. Sirius followed suit, aiming at a piece of sausage, which whizzed into her hair, smearing ketchup on it. By then, the majority of the students had noticed Lily's predicament, and had stopped eating to watch the girl with interest. Riley also noticed, smiling in appreciation of this creative revenge. Some porridge, guided by James' wand, splattered onto the shoulder of Lily's robes. Lily pulled away the pancake, revealing her very red and angry face, glaring at the Marauders. Just as she opened her mouth to yell, Peter pointed his wand, whispered the spell, and a glob of scrambled eggs flew up into Lily's nostril. Other students roared with laughter.

"I HATE YOU IMBECILES!" screamed Lily. Riley's small smile faded instantly. She couldn't take this again. The Marauders, however, feigned innocent looks.

"Who, us?" Peter asked in a sweet voice.

"You five are the most rude, obnoxious, arrogant jerks I have ever had the misfortune of being stuck with! If you took the time to realize what you really do to people, you would-" Lily's rant was muffled into the palm of Riley's hand. She had climbed over the table, and was now stepping off the bench.

"Stop, please," she whispered, new tears filling her eyes. Lily's own eyes widened.

"I don't like it when you're mad at me. You're right, you did stand up for me, we shouldn't be fighting. I don't know what I did for you to get mad, but whatever it is, can we just forget it?" Riley removed her hand, looking expectantly at Lily.

"You lied to me. You pranked him because he got mad at you for hexing him," Lily said. Riley tilted her head in confusion.

"What?" she asked.

"Severus got mad at you for hexing him," replied Lily.

"I never hexed him. I ran into him in the hallway, then he called me a mudblood," said Riley.

"That's not what he said," Lily said, but she looked less confident in her answer.

"I don't care what he said, he's lying. I NEVER hexed him. Who do you trust?" asked Riley.

"I trusted him," whispered Lily.

"Not a good answer, Evans," growled Riley.

"Lily. I'm Lily to you, not Evans. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I trust you now. If you say you didn't hex him, I believe you," Lily said, and Riley smiled.

"Really?" Riley asked.

"Really," she asked.

* * *

><p>All was quiet in the halls of Hogwarts. It being Saturday, most people were in their common rooms, the library, or out on the grounds. The Marauders, however, were running down the hall.<p>

"Why-do-we-have-to-run?" gasped Peter, as he struggled to keep up with the others.

"Uh, I don't know, maybe because there's an angry mob of Slytherins chasing us?" Riley suggested, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Totally worth it though, Hug a Slytherin Day is hilarious!" laughed James.

"We should do it more often!" Sirius said, grinning at James.

"Your funeral," grumbled Remus. Riley glanced back over her shoulder, gasping in surprise at the Slytherins getting closer to them.

"Quick, they're gaining!" she yelled, taking the lead and guiding her friends into an empty corridor. Suddenly, she tripped over her feet, and fell. Riley grabbed the frame of a large mirror, but instead of being stabilized, Riley fell to the ground as the mirror swung open. The other Marauders scrambled into the passage behind it, Remus pulling Riley in as she closed the mirror. All five sat down on the stone floor, trying to quiet their breathing as loud footsteps went past their hiding place. Once the footsteps were long gone, Remus broke the silence.

"We should go," he said, making for the exit.

"No, let's see where this goes!" Sirius said, grabbing Remus' arm and pulling him back.

"There is no way I'm going with you," said Riley. James grabbed her arms.

"We aren't leaving you out of the fun!" he said, pulling her along as the five began walking.

"Let me go or I will murder you in your sleep," Riley snapped, struggling in James' hold.

"You don't scare me," said James.

"Why am I friends with you again?" sighed Riley. She resignedly began following the others.

"Because you love us," James said, releasing Riley's arms and slinging his arm around her shoulders. The five walked in silence for about fifteen minutes, before Sirius bumped his head on something hard.

"Somebody light their wand," whispered James. Remus pulled his arm from Sirius' grip and retrieved his wand from his jeans.

"_Lumos,"_ he said, and a small orb of light appeared at the end of his wand.

"Why didn't we do that before?" asked Peter.

"Because we're stupid," Riley said, looking ahead at the small stepstool on the floor of the passage, and the trapdoor above them.

"What's that sound?" Sirius asked, clutching his head and pressing his ear to the trapdoor. The others joined him, all straining their ears. Riley, listening hard, heard undistinct voices through the wood.

"Guys, someone's up there! If we go, wherever this leads, we'll get caught!" she whisper-yelled, looking frantically at the others.

"Relax," commanded Sirius, but Riley ignored him, turning to run away.

"It's okay, Ri, the voices are gone. Whoever was there has left," Remus said. Riley cautiously went back, as Peter opened the trapdoor and Remus whispered the spell to put out the light in his wand. The five carefully climbed up through, all looking around as soon as they got up.

"Where are we?" asked Peter.

"We must be pretty far away from the school," Remus replied, examining the contents of a large box.

"Whoah! Guys, come look at this!" exclaimed Sirius. The others rushed over to him, looking at what he had in his hands.

"It's a Sneakoscope. My dad has one exactly like this, and guess where he got it from!" Sirius said, looking excitedly at the others, waiting for one of them to guess.

"Dervish and Banges," whispered James in awe. Sirius nodded frantically.

"Are you saying we're in Hogsmeade?" asked Remus.

"Hogsmeade? What's that?" Riley asked in confusion, looking from Remus to James.

"It's a village near the school, the only one in Great Britain with a population of wizards only," explained Peter.

"Third years and up are allowed to visit here sometimes. We're two years ahead, this is so cool!" said James.

"We should definitely go up and look around," Sirius agreed.

"Won't we get in trouble?" asked Riley. Sirius and James exchanged a look.

"Riley, you need to learn that it's okay to break rules. They were made to be broken," James said.

"Just for half an hour, then we'll go back, okay?" Riley bit her lip and thought a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"Alright, but if we get caught, I'm hexing you," she said. The five Marauders carefully made their way up the steps and snuck out the back door of the shop, careful not to attract the attention of the man at the counter. Once they were out, Sirius and James gazed in awe at the store next to it.

"Zonko's," whispered Sirius, looking like he had just been told where a new secret passage was.

"Which is…?" Riley asked cautiously.

"Best joke shop ever," replied James.

"Okay, so let's stop staring and go in," said Riley, and she pulled the awestruck raven-haired boys into the large shop. They all stopped in their tracks, however, once they got in. Dungbombs and fireworks hanging off of large shelves, Piles of Nose-biting Teacups, Frog Spawn Soap, and Fanged Frisbees were everywhere you looked. Whizzing Worms, Hiccough Sweets, and Screaming Yo-yos sat in large bins all over the shop. Even Riley, being not as loving of pranks as the others, was in love with the shop at once.

"This is…" Riley trailed off.

"Incredible?" suggested James.

"Wonderful?" Sirius said.

"Fantastic, dream-fulfilling, beautiful,"

"Insane, crazy, awesome," Riley nodded.

"Yeah," she said. A man came out front, but stopped, startled at the five young students.

"I didn't know this was a Hogsmeade weekend," he said, examining their Hogwarts cloaks.

"It isn't. We're first years, found a secret passage," James said cheerily.

"You must be real pranksters, then. Feel free to look around," said the man, and began restocking a few of the shelves. Sirius and James began selecting some items, discussing the prank possibilities of each one. Riley, who had a few Galleons on her, bought some Frog Spawn Soap, a few Filibuster fireworks, one Fanged Frisbee, and a couple Dungbombs.

"Isn't this cool, Remus?" Riley asked, as the man packaged up her purchases.

"I suppose," he murmured, looking at his feet.

"Oh, come on, have some fun, Remus! You've got to admit, visiting Hogsmeade before third year is really awesome. Besides, I don't think anyone will tell on us. We'll just look around a bit, then go back," said Riley. Remus sighed and looked up at her. Riley studied his face carefully. It had been the first good look at him she had gotten all day, and he looked pretty pale.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"M fine," mumbled Remus, and he continued to stare at his feet. Riley sighed, paid for her stuff, and followed Sirius, James, and Peter out of the shop.

"Where to next?" asked Peter, looking around.

"Honeydukes," Sirius and James said together.

"You'll have to tell me what all the shops are, guys, you know I don't know," Riley said.

"Oh, yeah. Honeydukes is a sweetshop. Dervish and Banges, the place where our passage leads, is a shop that fixes and sells magical items, like that Sneakoscope Sirius found. There's Madam Puddifoot's, which is just, like, a little café, most couples go there on dates. There's the post office, Gladrags, and I think that's about all I know. There's loads more, though," explained James, as they walked along the road to Honeydukes. Riley was captured in his every word.

"I love the magical world," she said once he had finished. James laughed and put his arm around her shoulder.

"And you've only seen a little part of it so far," he said. Sirius put his arm around her other shoulder.

"We'll show you it all. Marauders forever," said Sirius. Riley smiled and pulled Remus and Peter in their awkward, one-armed group hug.

"Definitely," she said. The five walked like that, arms over shoulders, stepping in perfect rhythm. Peter next to James, James next to Riley, Riley next to Sirius, and Sirius next to Remus.

"We stay together, we're unstoppable," said Peter, grinning from ear to ear.

"Nothing will ever tear us apart," Sirius agreed. The five stopped walking as they stood in front of Honeydukes.

"How are we going to get through the door, though?" asked Remus.

"Go in sideways?" suggested Peter.

"Good idea, Pete," James said. They all turned sideways, Remus opened the door and shuffled in. Riley took one look at the shop and her knees suddenly went numb, her small body nearly crashing to the floor. Sirius and James pulled her up, both staring around.

"I've never seen so much candy in my entire life," whispered Riley, eyes glazed and mouth hanging ajar.

"This is heaven," Remus said. The five dropped arms, walking individually around the shop.

"Now I wish I hadn't bought so much at Zonko's," Riley said, ogling a huge chocolate bar with Remus. After about ten minutes, the Marauders finally left, loaded with Sugar Quills, Cauldron Cakes, pumpkin pasties, Fizzing Whizbees, and Chocolate Frogs.

"How can you eat those things?" asked Riley, watching Remus munch on a Frog.

"Easy, they're delicious," he said. Riley shivered as he bit off the head.

"I just can't eat something that moves," Riley said, looking away as he finished it off.

"Suit yourself," Peter said, biting into his own.

"We should go back to the school now, and come again another time," said Riley.

"Aw, come on, at least let's go to the Three Broomsticks," Sirius said. The others agreed, and they walked into the cozy pub.

"Hello, kids, can I get you anything?" asked the pretty barmaid on their arrival.

"Five butterbeers, please," said James. The five sat down at a table, and James gave the barmaid some gold, and she set the drinks on the table. Riley took a drink.

"Oh, this is good stuff," she said. The boys nodded in agreement.

"The best," Peter said. The butterbeer, Riley thought, was like a small fire, warming her and melting in her mouth. It was great. Once they had all finished, they said goodbye to the barmaid, who had introduced herself as Madam Rosmerta. They snuck back into Dervish and Banges, and made their way back through the passage.

"You know, I think we should have lunch in the kitchens today. The Slytherins will probably try to kill us in the Great Hall," suggested Remus.

"Got that right," Peter said. Riley smiled.

The Marauders were the best friends anyone could ask for.

**Yay! Happy friends. BTW, the spell they used was Waddiwasi. I'll upload the next chapter in about a day or two.**


	9. Secrets from the Past

**Ah, well, crap. Somehow I accidentally posted chapter one. It's a little later than I had planned, but enjoy! Keep your eyes open, previous chapters will be explained.  
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Secrets from the Past

That Sunday night, four of the five Marauders sat on their beds, tossing around a baseball Riley had found in her trunk, munching on Jelly Slugs, and swapping stories.

"You guys want to hear about the time I organized a paintball war at my school?" asked Riley, catching the ball and tossing it to Peter.

"What's paintball?" James questioned.

"It's a Muggle thing, you have these guns filled with paint, and you shoot it at someone who's not on your team. Everyone's running around and trying not to get hit, it's chaos," Riley explained.

"Definitely," replied Sirius.

"Okay, so it was a boring Tuesday, so I sent out a mass text-that's like an owl message-to everyone in third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, and seventh grade to bring a paintball gun to school on Thursday. At exactly 10 that day, we all pulled out our guns in the middle of class and ran out into the halls. We went outside, first, because we didn't want to have to get stuck cleaning up. Out on the fields, we were shooting paintballs everywhere. Just imagine about 300 students, a giant field, and a massive paintball massacre. My team, the blue team, won. We all got detention, but it was totally worth it," By the end of the story, the three boys were gazing at Riley in an awed trance. Sirius recovered first.

"Wow, Riley, never knew you would do something like that! That's incredible!" he said. Riley blushed a deep red and turned away.

"It wasn't that great, you've done better," murmured the girl. James shook his head so hard his glasses nearly fell off his face.

"No way. Getting about three hundred people to shoot each other with colorful liquids is way better than any prank we've ever pulled. Like EVER," insisted James.

"I would never have the courage to go into war like that, people would probably target me a lot," Peter said.

"It was two years ago. I'm not like that anymore. A few pranks, that's fine, but I don't like to go crazy like you guys," replied Riley.

"Why don't you have fun with us? If you did something as amazing as that, why did you become all Ravenclaw-like?" James asked.

"It's complicated," she whispered, looking out the window. Her friends were confused by this action. Usually nothing was too complicated that she couldn't figure it out, she and Remus were top of their year, even above the Ravenclaws. And now, all of a sudden, she was shy and uncomfortable about her fun prankster side. Sirius and James walked over and next to her, Peter sitting at the foot of her bed.

"What's wrong?" asked Peter.

"I-" she began, but faltered. She lost her track of mind, and was swept into a flashback of two years ago.

"_Adrian? Adrian!" called Riley, searching the courtyard for her best friend. The girl in question, however, was nowhere to be seen._

"_Come on, I told you, I've given up! You win!" she said loudly, hoping Adrian would hear her and come out of hiding._

"_You always win at Hide and Seek, you know I'm no good! My mum's made cookies!" Again, Riley was not answered, but she heard a rustle in a bush near where she stood. The young girl crept over to the bush, and pulled apart the branches. The tall blond girl on the ground looked up into her friend's green eyes, obviously irritated at having been found._

"_Go away," she growled, standing up and brushing dirt off her knees._

"_What's wrong, Dri?" asked Riley._

"_Nothing's wrong, Riley," Adrian said in a curt voice, walking past the girl._

"_Why didn't you come out?" Riley tried again, but Adrian merely continued walking._

"_Gosh, what's got your hair in a bunch?" _

"_Shut up," Riley was taken aback. Adrian never spoke to her like that._

"_Adrian, why are you so maaaad?" whined Riley, tugging on Adrian's arm. The blond pulled her arm away and turned to face Riley._

"_Will you stop being so immature? I hate the nickname Dri, I hate your stupid whine, and I HATE Hide and Seek! You're not cool, you're a poser," snapped Adrian. Tears sprang to Riley's eyes, her mind at a blank._

"_B-but we're best friends! You showed me how to prank, told me breaking the rules was fun! Are you saying you never meant it?" Riley asked, her voice slightly whimpering. _

"_I meant it," Riley gained some hope, "about the pranks and rule breaking. But I was never really your friend. I just felt sorry for you."_

"_A year-long friendship is more than pity," growled Riley, who was now as mad as Adrian._

"_What do you know about friends? You've never had a friend before me. You were a pathetic nerd, a loser, a nobody. Who was the genius behind the paintball war? Me. I helped you to not be a freak anymore. But I can't stand it any longer. I'm sick of the act, and I'm sick of you," Adrian's voice had raised to almost a yell now, and Riley was furious. For a year, she had been deceived, lied to, and undoubtedly talked about behind her back by her so-called best friend._

"_I HATE YOU!" she screamed, tears flowing freely down her face. Adrian just smirked as she heard a honk from near the front of Riley's house._

"_My mom's here. Guess I won't be seeing you around," The blond girl gave Riley one more cruel smile, pushed her to the ground, and walked off to her mom's car._

"Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"What's up with you?" asked Sirius. Riley took a deep breath, and told her friends the whole story. Once she had finished, James, Sirius, and Peter pulled her into a tight hug.

"So you stopped pranking after she left?" James asked.

"Yeah, I didn't want to be reminded of her and her ways. She moved to London a week later, I haven't seen her since," she replied, eyes downcast.

"After all this time, you were quiet and bookish, never having fun, because of her," Sirius said.

"I just wanted to go back to being myself. I liked having fun, but after Adrian, I learned if you trust, you get hurt. Always," Riley's voice was little more than a whisper, tears she had been holding back since Adrian left her threatening to fall.

"So you didn't want to become friends with us because of that?" Peter asked. Riley nodded.

"But then, why did you trust Remus?" questioned Sirius.

"He seemed like someone who had been through something like I had. Quiet, not wanting to make friends, and really into reading and stuff. I thought someone like that wouldn't hurt me," she said.

"Because of that jerk," growled James, looking like he wanted to kill something. Riley nodded again, buried her head in his shoulder, and began to cry. James wrapped her arms around her. It stayed that way for about five minutes, Riley crying, James holding her, and Sirius and Peter watching Riley with saddened gazes. Nobody said anything until Riley lifted her head and wiped her eyes.

"Oh, I'm being so sentimental. I haven't cried about it since the day she left," said Riley.

"It's okay, if you've been holding it back for this long, you should let it out and move on. She didn't deserve you as a friend," comforted Peter, giving the distraught girl a smile. Riley returned his with a small smile of her own.

"Thanks, Pete," she said. The four sat in a comfortable silence as Riley recomposed herself, while Sirius trying to think about a question burning in his mind.

"Where's Remus, anyways? He said he was going to the library, but it's nearly curfew, and he isn't one to be out late," Sirius finally asked.

"Probably still there. He's behind on homework, you know Potions and Astronomy are his worst subjects, and we've got essays due for both," Riley replied.

"Just because he gets E's instead of O's does not mean he's rubbish," stated James.

"He'll be back eventually, it's not like we have to wait up for him. I don't know about you, but I'm tired. And we've got Transfiguration first thing tomorrow, if we're late, Minnie will freak," said Riley. Sirius and James exchanged a grin.

"Saying Minnie, nice, Riley. Looks like we're breaking that shell of yours," Sirius said.

"You guys really want to be my friend, I see that now. Might as well be someone that can have fun. We'll work on Remus next,"

The four Marauders went to bed all smiling, glad that Riley was feeling the Marauder love.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Riley woke up before all the other Marauders, showering, brushing her hair and teeth, magically drying her hair, and changing into her robes at lightning speed. She put her hair into a high ponytail, for the first time in what seemed like years, and smiled at herself in the mirror.<p>

_New Riley, new look,_ she thought to herself, and feeling satisfied with her appearance, went back into the bedroom to wake up the boys. She went to James first, shaking him and prodding him until he awoke with a start, nearly punching her in the face. Then, with James' help, she flipped Sirius with his blankets, then poured cold water on Peter's face. By the time the boys were ready, Remus had still not emerged from his bed. The curtains were pulled around, and Riley was having a debate with herself, seeing as the boy had probably got in late, as they had all fallen asleep before he had returned.

"Reckon we should wake up Remus?" she asked, as Sirius pulled on his shoes, and James helped Peter with his tie.

"Nah, let him sleep. He was out late. He'll probably kill us later, but he'd also kill us now, he's so grumpy in the mornings. Better for our lives," joked Sirius, now full dressed.

"I guess so. Worst he can get is detention, and if he does, we'll get ourselves into it to keep him company," Riley said.

The four grabbed their book bags and headed down to breakfast. Riley made idle chat with Lily, while Sirius, James, and Peter why porridge was an evil food. After breakfast, McGonagall made no question of Remus' absence, but Riley convinced Lily to sit by her in the second to back row in front of Sirius, James, and Peter, where she usually sat with Remus. The class was uneventful, except for Peter's button that he transfigured from a beetle screamed whenever somebody poked it. Sirius and James took great delight in this until McGonagall took the button and ten points from Gryffindor, which resulted in a severe telling-off from Lily. It wasn't until History of Magic that Remus finally showed his face, slipping in next to Riley and Lily, 40 minutes late. Binns, however, did not notice the absence of the boy, nor his entry. Riley whispered to him a promise to let him copy her notes from Transfiguration, Charms, and the previous duration of Binns' lecture. Remus nodded a thanks, gave Lily a wave, and the three continued taking notes. Well, Riley continued, until James passed her a note.

_If Evans is sitting next to you in Herbology, can I sit with you? –James_

_Sure, but dare I ask why? –Riley_

_She's kind of pretty. –James_

_James, we're eleven. You're too young to have a girlfriend. –Riley_

_Merlin, Ri, you're starting to sound like my mum. –James_

_Lily hates you anyway. –Riley_

_Buzzkill much? –James_

Riley rolled her eyes, crumpled the note, and chucked it at James' head. He just gave her a cheeky grin. Although, crazy as they might be, Riley loved her friends.

**Ah, see? In chapters three, four, and five, Riley was refusing of James and Sirius' friendship, because she didn't want to get hurt. The only reason she was happy about switching to their room was because couldn't stand Marlene and Amanda. Told you, lots would be explained. Reviews would be nice. If I get five reviews or more, maybe I'll post the next chapter early. You never know...**


	10. Halloween

**Omigosh, I am sosososo sorry I left the chapter this late! The next chapter will be up early. I'm having terrible writer's block.**

Halloween

The days of October gradually grew shorter and colder, and students began counting down the days until Halloween. All the first years were excited about the feast, including the Marauders. There had also been notices put up that everyone should come dressed in a costume. Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus had all agreed to go dressed as Dumbledore, whereas Riley would be going as McGonagall. Lily was going to be a princess, and Mary McDonald was going to be a ninja. Riley had grown closer to the two girls, and she and Lily shared their love of the Muggle world and Charms. The three girls were also great at Potions. They had agreed to group together in Potions for a while. Riley loved Potions, it being her favorite class, and Professor Slughorn seemed to like her a lot. On the 30th, the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs gathered in the dungeon, awaiting the arrival of the Professor. While the class talked, Peter passed Riley a note.

_You know, it's Halloween, and we still haven't planned a prank. –James_

_Do you have any ideas? –Sirius_

_Well, there's going to be decorations, right? –Riley_

_I like where this is going. –James_

_What about the decorations? –Peter_

_Peter, she was about to tell us! –Sirius_

_Right, sorry. I just wanted to know. –Peter_

_It's all right, Pete. –James_

_Yeah, totally. Now what were you saying Riley? –Sirius_

_There will be pumpkins there, so we pick a few smaller ones, light them on fire, and have them roll between the tables. –Riley_

_That sounds awesome! But where can we find spells to do that? –James_

_There's a spell I know that ignites stuff. –Remus_

_Remy! You've joined us! Yay! But what does ignites mean? –Sirius_

_It means to light stuff on fire. –Remus_

_Well, what about the rolling? –James_

_Isn't there that one spell we learned in Charms a few days ago, Wingardium Leviosa? –Peter_

_Oh, yeah, right, Peter! We could do that! –Sirius_

_No way. It's too risky. We want to make them roll, not fly, and there's a good chance our spell would give out, and it would crash on top of a table or something and hurt someone. Besides, I doubt we can all master it in one day. –Riley_

_What about Mobiliarbus? –Remus_

_Huh? –James_

_Oh, good one Remus! We could definitely use that one! –Riley_

_I'm confused. –Peter_

_Mobiliarbus is a spell that lets you move objects directed by your wand. –Riley_

_Kind of like Waddiwasi, but with less force. –Remus_

_Oh. –Sirius_

"Hello, class, I hope you're all excited about the big feast tomorrow?" Slughorn entered the classroom with a big smile underneath his bushy mustache. A small reply came through the students.

"Now, today, we're going to be working on a potion called the Wiggenweld Potion. Can anyone tell me what that does?" asked the Professor. Riley threw up her hand, as well as Lily, Mary, Remus, and a few Hufflepuffs. Slughorn gestured towards Riley.

"Miss Stevens, perhaps you could tell us," he said. Riley nodded and smiled.

"The Wiggenweld potion awakes a person from a magically induced sleep. It is an antidote to the Draught of Living Death, and can also cure minor damage," she recited from her book. Slughorn beamed at the girl, and nodded approvingly.

"Exactly, my dear girl, ten points to Gryffindor," he said, "Now, a potion is a bit more complicated than the ones we've done before, but, no worries, as long as you are careful to the instructions, you should do fine. Today, we're just going to be doing the first portion of the procedure, as you can see, the steps are separated, on page 17 of your books. If anyone has failed to collect a few ingredients, you can just find them in the cupboard. Also, if you need help, don't hesitate to ask. Now, begin!"

Riley opened her book, and saw a long list of ingredients, with an even longer brewing procedure. The Professor was right, the instructions were segmented into little groups. Fortunately, the first section was rather short, so if they messed up today, they would probably get to start again.

"Alright, so we start with the unicorn horn," Mary said, lifting up said item, and placing it onto the table. There was just a chunk of it, the tip at the end, the other end roughly chiseled.

"It's pretty," said Riley. She examined it for a moment, then handed it to Lily, who dropped it into the cauldron.

"Now, salamander blood. Ew, can one of you do that?" asked Lily, as she pointed to the instruction on the page looked away from the vial that Mary was holding. Riley helped Mary uncork it, and they poured it in. The three girls worked thoroughly on their potion for the next hour. Lily put in the powdered root of asphodel, then carefully stirred the cauldron twice. Riley took some dittany and carefully shredded it to the exact thinness the book described, added it, and then Riley and Mary helped Lily pull apart a stewed Mandrake and put it in their potion.

"Oh, I think we missed something, it should be light yellow by now, and it's dark blue," pointed out Mary, as the girls scanned the page for instructions.

"No, we've just got to put in the mint, then stir it 8 times clockwise, then 8 times counterclockwise," Riley explained. Lily added the sprig, and Riley stirred 8 times one way, then 8 the other. With every stir, the potion got lighter, and greener, until it was almost exactly the same as the book described. They didn't have to wait long until Slughorn came around to examine everyone's potion. Remus and Peter's still looked pretty green, but Sirius and James' was yellow, but a darker yellow. Most of the Hufflepuffs' were sort of a lime green, with faded yellow, but some of them had got it almost perfect. Riley parted with Mary and Lily, after having a brief conversation of excitement over getting an O, and headed over to the library, to pick up the spell book she had read about the spells they were using for the prank. Once she had gotten the book, Riley went back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Acromantula," she said to the Fat Lady, who nodded and swung open. There, a shocking scene met her eyes.

Sirius and James.

In togas.

Dancing around the common room.

Needless to say, Riley fainted.

* * *

><p>"Is she okay?"<p>

"Wonder what made her faint,"

"Maybe you morons dancing in togas,"

"It was funny, Remus,"

"Oi, Pete, thought you were on my side,"

"What happened?" asked Riley, opening her eyes and seeing her four best friends looking at her. She was lying on the couch in the common room.

"You fainted, remember?" reminded Sirius cheerfully, as if his friend had not just fainted.

"Why were you dancing in togas?" asked Riley.

"Remus told us about toga parties, and we wanted to have one!" James replied. Riley groaned and fell back against the couch. Her friends were weird. Although, toga parties were always fun.

"If you're done partying now, let's go up to our room," Remus said. The other four followed him up the stairs, and into the dorm. First, the Marauders practiced _Incendio_, using some cabbages for practice. After that, they worked on _Mobiliarbus_, rolling a basketball around the floor. By dinner time, all five had mastered the spell, and they discussed ways to sign the prank with their group name. Nobody else knew it yet, and they wanted to present themselves to the school, but still have their identities a secret. Riley suggested fireworks, ones that exploded into words. That night, James, Sirius, and Remus worked on the fireworks, while Riley helped Peter with his homework.

The next morning, the Marauders woke up with a feeling of excitement and confidence. They tried to act as normal as they could, so the professor's wouldn't know they were up to something, but in History of Magic, the five got extremely bored and a bored Sirius who is anticipating a prank is an extremely dangerous Sirius.

_I'm bored. –Sirius_

_What do you want me to do about it? –Riley_

_Make me not bored. –Sirius_

_So what, I should just get up on the desk and start dancing? –Riley_

_Sure, Binns never notices anything. –Sirius_

_No, Sirius. If you're that bored, surely you can entertain yourself. I'm taking notes. –Riley_

_You're no fun. –Sirius_

_Hey James? –Sirius_

_Yeah, Sirius? –James_

_Riley's no fun. –Sirius_

_Well, you know she'll stop taking History of Magic notes by second year, she'll get tired of it. For now, let's just prank some Slytherins.-James_

_Guys, don't. –Riley_

_Oh, so now you decide to join us.-Sirius_

_If you get detention, we won't be able to do the prank. Do you really want to miss out on our first Marauder prank? –Riley_

_This is Binns' class, he never does anything. –James_

_Yeah, but I'll bet you ten Galleons they'll go straight to Minnie or Slughorn as soon we leave. –Riley_

_You're on. –Sirius_

_Sirius, I was being hypothetical. –Riley_

_Hypo-what? –James_

_Oh, never mind. Just play Hangman or something. –Riley_

_What's that? –Sirius_

Riley groaned. She had a choice, either play Hangman with James and Sirius, keep them occupied until class was over, and do an awesome prank, or turn around, ignore them, and take her notes. Her two sides were conflicting, in a battle for the top. Why did she have to have two opposite personalities? This prank would be really cool… She could always borrow Remus' notes later. Riley pulled out a spare parchment and began playing with Sirius and James. After the first game, Peter joined in, and the four played like that until class ended. The rest of the day flew by in anticipation for the prank. It wasn't the Marauder's first prank, oh no, but it certainly wouldn't be their last. Sirius and James had done their weird dungbomb-firework-Dumbledore impersonation prank, Sirius, James, and Peter had done the green paint and laughing potion, and Riley and Remus were technically blamed, so was kind of all of them, in a way. At the feast, the five first years entered with eyes wide. There were little pumpkins floating amongst the candles, and bigger ones carved into jack-o-lanterns around the Hall. Almost everyone was in costume, except for some Slytherins who thought it was beneath them. Riley was wearing emerald green dress robes she had borrowed from a second year Ravenclaw she knew, and had owled her parents a letter, asking them to send her the hat she wore when she dressed up as a witch when she was eight. Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter, instead of robes, were wearing bathrobes that an older student had charmed purple for them. They didn't have any fake beards, so the boys had charmed pillowcases with holes for their mouths onto their lower face. The Marauders sat at their usual place at the Gryffindor table, with Lily and Mary coming to sit by Riley. Once the food appeared, the seven piled large amounts of delicious things onto their plates, along with various sweets.

"When should we do it?" Riley whispered to James.

"During dessert," James whispered back. When it got to dessert, the five gave themselves enough time to scarf down a piece of treacle tart, and then they drew their wands. Since there were only three aisles between House tables, Peter was rolling his pumpkin near the staff table, and Sirius was blocking off the entrance with his rolling pumpkin. On cue, the pumpkins burst into flame at the exact same time. They expertly rolled the flaming pumpkins between the tables, near the entrance, and at the staff table. After a few minutes, the five whispered the counter-spells, extinguishing the fire. The pumpkins collapsed, leaving large piles of orange goo on the floor. That was when Sirius and James lit the fireworks. They whizzed under the table, coming out at the end and exploding at the enchanted ceiling.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, HOGWARTS!

THE MARAUDERS

The Hall instantly broke into whispers and mumbling about the Marauders, while McGonagall and Dumbledore scanned the tables, looking for the culprit. Riley smirked to herself, they would never know it was them. The Marauders' identities would stay secret until they decided to expose themselves. They'd get millions of detentions, but it would be worth it.

Riley felt a little self-satisfied, knowing that her two sides were at peace, at least for now.

**Once again, I am so sorry for waiting so long. I just now finished the chapter. Sorry it's so suckish, I am out of inspiration. Please review!**


	11. Slytherins

**Sorry it's so late, I've been uber busy lately, what with back to school shopping and painting my room. I'll get the next chapter up soon. I know I said that last time, but I've got ideas. Please don't hate me! *hides from angry mob and llama***

Slytherins**  
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November arrived, and with it came Quidditch and Sirius and Riley's birthdays. Sirius' was on the 8th and Riley's was the 23rd, but Riley and Sirius wanted to celebrate them together. Riley was excited to see her first ever Quidditch match, and the others were just excited to see Gryffindor hopefully beat Slytherin. The morning of the match, Riley left her seat to talk to Pamela Jenkins, a third year she had borrowed a book from once. Pamela was sitting with the Gryffindor team, so Riley slid in between her and another girl.

"Hey Pamela!" she greeted the Beater cheerily.

"Oh, hey Riley! Are you excited about the game?" Pamela handed Riley a sausage and smiled.

"Yeah, totally, Sirius and James have told me all about it. I can't wait. They say it's the best game in the world, and that they're going to join the team next year," Riley said, and bit into her sausage.

"Are you going to?" asked Pamela.

"I might. I'd like to play Chaser or Seeker, or maybe in the future, if I get too busy for practice because of exams, I could be commentator," replied Riley.

"Oh yeah, that's smart. I might have to do that when I get to OWLs,"

"OWLs?"

"Ordinary Wizarding Exams. It's a fifth year thing. There are a few books about them in the library, in the information section,"

"That sounds interesting. I'll look at them after the game,"

"What about the after party?"

"After party?"

"When Gryffindor wins, we have a big party in the common room, get hyped up and sugar and the occasional spiked punch, and make a lot of noise until Professor McGonagall comes up and shouts death threats at us,"

"Sounds fun. I guess I'll check them out tomorrow. Do you know the names of them?"

"No, I only know about them from my older sister, Maria. She's in her sixth year, in Ravenclaw,"

"Oh, I've met Maria! She helped me find books for my Charms essay once, and I showed her a shortcut to the Transfiguration classroom,"

"You know a shortcut?"

"I know a lot about this school. You don't explore every weekend and not find anything. Anyways, I've got to get back to my friends. Good luck with the game," Riley walked back to the Marauders, and they chatted animatedly until everyone began leaving the Hall, led by the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams. The Marauders, Lily, and Mary sat in the stands, waiting for the start of the game. Suddenly, an almighty roar rose from the crowd around them, and James pointed to the seven Gryffindor players, all clad in scarlet robes and carrying a broomstick. Riley waved to Pamela, who returned the gesture, and a smaller noise came from the Slytherins as their team walked out on the field, wearing robes of emerald.

"Sirius, what's wrong?" asked Riley. Sirius' face was set in a scowl, glaring with intensity at the Slytherin team.

"Malfoy," he spat the name out like it was a garlic Bertie Bott's bean, "he's the captain. My cousin Narcissa's boyfriend. He's a pureblood sadist egomaniac. You see him, the one with the blond hair?"

"Yeah, I see him. Is he really that bad?" Riley questioned. Sirius nodded, growling as Malfoy shook hands with the Gryffindor captain, Morris Greyson.

"He's terrible. Every time I see him, he hexes me, calls me a blood traitor, and gives me a detention," hissed Sirius, sounding very irritated.

"That's awful! Dumbledore's gone insane if he made an arse like _him_ a prefect. Prefects are supposed to protect the students and keep Hogwarts an orderly environment!" said Riley.

"Guys, shut up. The game's started!" yelled James. Riley blushed, but Sirius stuck his tongue out at him. The pair returned their attention to the two teams, who had taken their spots in the sky.

"Here's the first match of the season, Gryffindor versus Slytherin! Madam Burns blows the whistle, and here we go! It's Greyson first with the Quaffle, and he passes to Edgecombe- ooh! Lestrange sends a Bludger to Edgecombe, nearly knocked him off his broom! ARSE!" Bryan Parker yelled into the magical megaphone.

"Parker! Language!" snapped McGonagall, which was amplified by the megaphone.

"Sorry, Professor. Anyways, Rosier's got the Quaffle now, passes to Black, Black throws it towards the goals. And… YES! Brocklehurst saves it! Longbottom in possession, passes to Greyson, who passes to Edgecombe, and wow! The Gryffindor Chasers are passing back in forth, can't even tell who's got it! Longbottom shoots, Malfoy reaches, and… SCORE! BOOYAH! GO FRANK! Gryffindor in the lead now, with ten to zero,"

Riley watched with wide eyes as Frank Longbottom, Taylor Edgecombe, and Morris Greyson chased after Andromeda Black, Evan Rosier, and Darren Goyle. Rodolphus Lestrange, Reynold Crabbe, Pamela Jenkins, and Jason Belby were swinging clubs madly and sending the two Bludgers everywhere. Lucius Malfoy and Carson Brocklehurst circled in front of the hoops, making dives and turns reaching for the Quaffle, and Paris MacMillan and Rufus Flint were flying up above all the action, looking for the Snitch.

"Score's 230 to 190, Gryffindor in the lead. MacMillan dodges a Bludger, both Seekers still looking for the Snitch! MacMillan's diving now, I think she's seen it! Yes, she's after something, no doubt. Flint follows, getting near Slytherin goals, MacMillan swerves! Has she got it?" Bryan made a "hmmm" sound into the megaphone, as the entire stadium strained their eyes towards the Gryffindor girl, who was pulling out of a dive. She uncurled her fist, raising her hand into the air. In between her thumb and index finger was something gold.

"SHE'S GOT IT! SHE'S GOT IT! SHE'S GOT IT! YEESSS!" screamed James and Sirius.

"We won? Oh my merlin, we won! Lily, Riley, we bloody won!" Mary squealed, pulling her two friends into a hug and jumping up and down. Riley jumped with her, it had been the most exciting twenty minutes of her life and she was feeling hyper and excited.

"MacMillan catches the Snitch! Gryffindor wins, the score 380 to 190! WOOHOO!" Bryan screamed over the megaphone. After a few more minutes of screaming and hugging(the Gryffindors), everyone began leaving the pitch, the Gryffindors heading back to the common room to party.

"Guys, what say we get some food from the kitchens to bring to the party?" Remus suggested, as the Marauders walked back into the castle.

"Great idea, Remy! Let's go!" said Sirius.

"You guys go without me. I'm going to the library," Riley said. James, Sirius, and Peter gasped simultaneously.

"The library? When you could be partying with everyone in the common room? No way! We will not let you go!" said James, acting like Riley had just said she didn't want to be a Marauder anymore.

"I'm just going to get a couple of books and then go to the tower. If I don't do it now, I'll forget, and there's something I really want to read about. I promise I'll go to the party, I'll just be about ten minutes late, okay?"

James and Sirius let Riley go, and she walked to the library, and went to the information section. She pulled a few books about exams from the shelf, and, after scanning the titles, pocketed two of them. One was _Ordinary Wizarding Level Examinations Explained_, the other _All About OWLs_. Riley started back towards the common room, but in the middle of a corridor, she tripped. There was nothing there, and she didn't trip over her feet. It was like something appeared in midair.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't a Mudblood," a sadistic voice came from the darkness. Riley shot up, jumping to her feet, hand reaching inside her robe for her wand. Unfortunately, she had left it in her trunk today.

"Bloody hell," she whispered fiercely, cursing herself for being stupid and forgetful. Riley looked around for the person who hexed her to trip, seeing nothing but shadows. Suddenly, a tall girl stepped from the darkness, a cruel smile on her face, and a wand in her hand, pointed at Riley.

"Now, what should I do with you, Mudblood?" the girl said, coming closer to Riley, wand pointed at her neck. Something about the girl was familiar to Riley. She looked like someone she knew, someone she knew well. Riley studied the face closely, the grey eyes, the pale face, and the black, curly hair. She saw those eyes a lot, looked into them every day.

"You're a relative of Sirius', aren't you?" Riley asked boldly.

"Smart little Mudblood, aren't we?" sneered the girl.

"I bet you can't say a single sentence without using the word Mudblood," Riley scoffed.

"Don't you dare criticize me, Mudblood. I'll say it however many times I want. Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood," the girl hissed.

"You know, you haven't answered my question. Are you a Black or not?" asked Riley.

"I do belong to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black," the girl answered, drawing herself up and speaking with a snooty air. Riley was reminded of a certain Black saying almost the exact same thing.

"_I'm James Potter," said the bespectacled boy, motioning for her to sit next to him. Riley stowed her trunk away and sat. _

"_And I'm Sirius Black, of the Most Ancient and Bigheaded House of Black," said the other. James laughed, but Riley just gave him a confused look._

"_What do you mean?" she asked._

"_My family is big on supporting witches and wizards with magical parents, in other words, pure bloods. I, fortunately, have escaped their influence," replied Sirius._

"Good to know. So, which one are you, Narcissa, Bellatrix, or Andromeda?" Riley asked.

"Bellatrix. How do you know the names of me and my sisters?" Bellatrix questioned suspiciously.

"I'm friends with Sirius, duh. I knew you were a relative of his, you look like a female version of him," answered Riley. Bellatrix's eyes narrowed in anger.

"So my _dear_ cousin is friends with a Mudblood, is he? I bet Aunt Walburga would _love_ to her about this," the girl hissed, smiling sadistically, "But I do _not_ look like that little blood-traitor."

"Don't deny it, Bella, you _so_ do. You're his bloody cousin, for pete's sake. You're doomed to be recognized as a relative of him foreeever," Riley said, smirking at the Slytherin.

"Do NOT call me Bella, you filthy Gryffindor Mudblood! _Frangere!_" Bellatrix shrieked, pointing her wand at Riley's arm. Riley heard a crack, and her arm was suddenly filled with pain.

"Slytherin arse," snapped Riley.

"Being a Slytherin is no insult, Mudblood. We are the best house, and most noble, pure, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, blah de blah," Riley cut off the girl's snooty rant, becoming very bored and frantic to get to the Hospital Wing.

"You disrespectful, filthy, no-good, rude Mudblood! How dare you! _Dolore Plena!_" For the second time, Riley felt immense pain, but this time in her head. It was like a migraine multiplied by three.

"Knock it off, Black!" screamed Riley, and she punched her in the nose. A crack sounded through the hall, and blood poured from Bellatrix's nose. She ran away before the angry Slytherin could curse her again, up to the Hospital Wing.

"Stevens, what did you do?" asked Madam Pomfrey, as she saw her walk in.

"Tripped. I think my arm's broken," lied Riley.

"Well, it's definitely broken, did you trip down the stairs?" the matron asked.

"Yup," Riley answered, still lying.

"I can fix it, don't worry," Pomfrey said, getting her wand and performing complicated wand movements over Riley's arm. After about a minute of silence, Madam Pomfrey put down her wand and handed Riley a potion.

"Drink this, and the healing process will complete," she instructed. Riley nodded, pinched her nose(she had had experience with healing potions before) and choked down the nasty, burning liquid.

"You can go now, and try to be more careful," Riley nodded and left, heading up to the Gryffindor tower.

"Flobberworm," Riley gave the password to the Fat Lady, who nodded and swung open. She walked into the tower, which was loud with music and cheering. Pamela was riding on Carson and Morris' shoulders, and people were throwing around sweets and dancing. Riley pushed through the crowd, and found her friends near the fireplace, drinking punch and laughing.

"Guys, I need to tell you something," she said once she reached them. Peter and Remus looked at her worriedly, and Sirius and James just looked confused.

"What's up Ri?" asked Sirius.

"Come with me, we need to talk in private," Riley replied, beckoning the four to follow her upstairs to the dormitories. They went into their room, and sat down on their respective beds.

"Are you okay? You were away for pretty long," asked Remus.

"On my way back from the library, I ran into Bellatrix," said Riley. Sirius gasped and fell off of his bed.

"How are you still alive?" he asked from the floor, as James helped him up.

"I'm just that awesome. Anyways, she put a trip jinx on me in the corridor, then came up to me and called me a Mudblood, multiple times. She had your eyes, so I asked her if she was a Black, then she said she was, and I asked her which of your cousins she was. After she told me, she got all suspicious and asked how I knew her name and Narcissa's and Andromeda's. I told her I was a friend of yours, and she said something about someone named Walburga, and that she didn't look like you. Of course, that's starkers, she's your cousin, she looks totally like you, and told her that and called her Bella, so she hexed my arm to break and then gave me a big headache. I punched her in the nose, which broke it, and then I went to Hospital Wing, and then back here," Riley explained.

"THAT STUPID-" Sirius erupted into a string of swear words, hitting his bed repeatedly with his pillow, then pulling out his wand and making it slam into the wall, all while insulting Bellatrix.

"Siri, calm down, I'm fine now," Riley said.

"Yeah, because you've got a tough right hook. What if she had done worse stuff to you?" demanded Sirius.

"That's a 'what if', Sirius, I don't answer those questions. It didn't happen, and she's probably in her dorm right now, fixing her nose and cursing my existence," said Riley, inwardly laughing at the mental image.

"I guess you're right. Anyways, what did she say about Walburga?" Sirius asked.

"She said 'I bet Aunt Walburga would _love_ to hear about this'. 'This' being your friendship with me," answered Riley. Sirius swore again.

"Walburga's my mum. Merlin, I'm going to get a Howler tomorrow. There is hell to be paid," growled Sirius.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sirius, I shouldn't have told her, now she'll murder you over summer," Riley said.

"It's all right, she would find out eventually anyways, and you're my friend. I don't need to keep secrets," Sirius said. Riley noticed Remus looked suddenly uncomfortable.

"Well, now that we're all happy and right again, what say we go back down to the party?" suggested James. They nodded and went back down to the common room.

"Oh, and Sirius, don't swear. Your cousin is, admittedly, an arse, but I'm going to silence you next time," Riley said.

"Hey, it's one of the things I learned from Mummy dearest. Don't blame me, I'm the innocent influenced child," Sirius replied, as they walked down the stairs to the epic party.

**Dun dun dunnn... Poor Riley, being picked on by all the nasty Slytherins. Review if you want Riley to beat up a Slytherin! If I get at least five reviews, there will be a chapter with that. **

**But seriously. REVIEW. Or die. Muhahahaha.**


	12. Fideon and Gabian

**Oh hell, guys, I'm UBER sorry about this. I have terrible writer's block, my inspiration well is completely dry. Please don't hate me too much, I totally deserve mean reviews, I'm sorry, but if you guys want faster updates, if you could send in some ideas with your reviews, that would be greatly appreciated, and hopefully I'll get another chapter up on the 1st, because, as we all know, that's the day everyone goes to Hogwarts, so I'll try to update then. Enjoy the chapter!**

"SIRIUS BLACK! SHUT UP!"

"BUT IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!"

"I DON'T CARE IF IT'S CHRISTMAS! I AM TRYING TO STUDY! NOW SHUT UP BEFORE I PUSH YOU OFF THE ASTRONOMY TOWER!"

"YOU SUCK!"

_"SIRIUS!"_

"Those two are going to end up killing each other," groaned Remus, as he rubbed his temples and stared at the half-finished Potions essay before him.

"They're like an old married couple," James sighed. Suddenly, the sound of glass breaking came from upstairs. James, Remus, and Peter looked at each other before rushing up the stairs to stop whatever madness was occurring. When they burst into the room, the window was broken, large shards of glass were lying around the area near it, Riley had her wand drawn and teeth clenched, her face a mask of pure fury, and Sirius was purple.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN'S PANTS HAVE YOU TWO IDIOTS DONE?" screamed Remus, staring wide eyed at the two miscreants. Riley lowered her wand and pulled herself together, releasing her anger and turned to face her best friend.

"Sirius was bugging me about his birthday, so I turned him purple, and the window broke, though I don't know how," Riley explained calmly.

"Accidental magic. Wicked," said James, in awe.

"That usually stops when we're eleven," Peter whispered.

"I'll get someone to fix this," Remus sighed, walking out of the room.

"Can someone unpurpilify me?" Sirius asked.

"Nope," replied Riley, popping the "p", "you can stay like that until I'm done studying. Now shut up."

Moments later, Remus returned with Pamela, who laughed at the sight of a purple Sirius, then waved her wand and said an incantation, and the window pieces flew back into place, a few dirt specked shards flying up from the ground below.

"Thanks, Pamela," Riley said cheerily, clearly choosing to avoid the death glares Sirius was sending at her.

"Call me Mel, or Amel, Pamela sounds so stupid. I can't even count the times I wish I was named something like Hannah, or Sophie, or Sarah. What my mum was thinking…" shaking her head and muttering under her breath about stupid mothers, Pamela left the room.

"So, what do you guys want to do for your birthdays?" asked James.

"I'm thinking the five of us, Hogsmeade, butterbeer, and Fizzing Whizbees," Riley replied thoughtfully, thinking about the upcoming celebration. Sirius widened his eyes, and shook his (purple)head hard.

"No way! We have a huge party in the common room and we have so much fun until Minnie comes up to the tower and physically restrains each and every one of us!" whooped Sirius. It was then Riley's turn to shake her head.

"I don't like big parties. When I was a kid, I used to have huge swim parties at the community pool, inviting everyone I knew, but I didn't enjoy them, because I hardly got to have fun with anyone, because I was always been dragged away by somebody to spend time with _them_. I stopped after three years and started having sleepovers with about three people. We should do that, just a day of quality Marauder time," Riley explained.

"Yeah, but if we had a bunch of really fun people, we could do all sorts of crazy things and have a blast!" said Sirius. Riley frowned and tilted her head. She hadn't looked at it that way…

"Maybe we should wait a while before we make any major decisions," suggested Remus.

The others nodded, and the five students parted, each pursuing their own activity. In Riley's case, this was studying, Sirius kept trying different spells on himself in hopes that one of them would remove the purple, James started playing Gobstones with Peter, and Remus read a book, occasionally stopping and removing whatever effect Sirius' latest spell had on him, because Sirius was too afraid to bug Riley again. The Marauders continued in this way(excluding Sirius, who gave up after the twelfth spell and joined James and Peter in Gobstones) until dinner, and Riley took the purple off of Sirius. When the five got to the Great Hall, the food was already there, as well as a large bowl of sugar at the Marauders' usual place.

"What's with all the sugar?" asked Sirius curiously as the five sat down.

"It's for you, Siri, I asked the house elves to put some here for your birthday," responded Riley cheerily. Sirius' eyes widened comically and he immediately dug into the large bowl of white sugar.

"You realize he's going to be hyper all night and we're not going to get any sleep and tomorrow is Monday and we have Transfiguration first thing and Professor McGonagall will probably take fifty points off us?" Remus asked in a slightly hysterical tone.

"It's his birthday, Remy, let him enjoy himself," was all Riley said before she, too, began eating food. Remus shrugged and ate, and the five ate in peace before two second year Gryffindors came up to them.

"Hey," said one of them. They looked exactly alike each other, and Riley immediately began looking for differences in their appearances for help to tell them apart.

"You guys are James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Riley Stevens, right?" asked the other person. Sirius nodded, mouth full of sugar.

"I'm Fabian Prewett, and this is my twin, Gideon," said the first one. Riley made a mental note as to which was which.

"We hear you're planning a birthday party," Gideon said. The two took seats next to Peter.

"What are you doing?" asked Fabian.

"Just a day of friend quality time," Riley said, at the same time Sirius said, "Huge party in the common room," The two scowled at each other, and James, who kind of liked the two not hexing each other, stepped in.

"We haven't decided," he said. Gideon and Fabian nodded in understanding.

"So you want to spend time with your friends but still have crazy fun," Fabian concluded.

"I think that we could help with that," said Gideon. Sirius and Riley broke their glaring contest to look at the twins.

"Really?" they asked simultaneously. Gideon and Fabian's calm expressions were replaced by grins.

"Leave the planning to us-" Fabian started.

"-And we'll promise you-" continued Gideon.

"-The best birthday ever-"

"-With just us and you-"

"-And lots of crazy insane awesome stuff-"

"-But you have to go along with what we say," Gideon and Fabian finished together. Looks were exchanged between the five Marauders, and a silent decision was made.

"We're in. Name the date," said Riley.

"Aah aah aah, no knowing anything. We'll day you when it is the day of," Gideon said, with an evil smile.

"Now, we've see you ickle firsties soon," said Fabian, and the two were off.

The five Marauders finished dinner, and went back up to their dormitory, Sirius rather reluctantly, because the huge amount of sugar he had just eaten was making him _very_ hyper. Riley began regretting her decision to give Sirius all that sugar, as he ran around the room, laughing and talking and bugging everybody else. The four did not get to sleep until about 1 in the morning, right after Sirius' crash. The alarm clocks were not set, and the Marauders didn't wake up until 9:30 the next morning, right in the middle of Transfiguration.

"OH CRAP YOU GUYS WE'RE LATE!" screamed Remus as he looked at the clock. Next, there was some swearing, some people falling out of their beds, and some screaming. A bit more swearing came from Sirius, who had hit his head, and Riley was still half asleep, blearily looking around at the others.

"What are we late for?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Transfiguration," panted Remus from behind his curtains, halfway into his uniform. Riley swore.

"Minnie's gonna kill us. She's gonna chop us into little pieces, and then sauté those pieces. Then she'll feed our burned remains to the Giant Squid, then she'll turn the water in the Black Lake into acid, killing the Giant Squid and destroying our remains. Then she will spit on the remains, and then she will laugh. She will laugh until she dies, and on her tombstone it will say 'Minerva McGonagall, died laughing at students were late to her class'," And with that, Riley fell back asleep. The boys exchanged glances, shrugged, and left her sleeping to go to Transfiguration. When they walked into the classroom, they received a classic Minnie scowl, and then was asked,

"And why is Stevens not with you?" Remus yawned and answered.

"She's back in the tower. She woke up long enough to describe the unique way she thought you would kill us in, then went back to sleep," he said. McGonagall sighed and put her face in her hands.

"You five will be the death of me. Go on and start, we're turning radishes into feathers," said Minnie, and the boys got on it.

* * *

><p>"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" screamed twin voices on November 20th. The five Marauders awoke with a start, all doing their respective screaming and swearing, all falling out of their beds.<p>

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, PREWETT?" screamed Riley, who attacked Fabian to the ground. They wrestled for a moment, before Gideon pulled Riley off his brother, setting her on her feet and then helping Fabian up.

"Are you guys ready for the best mixed birthday EVER?" Gideon asked cheerfully, pretending not to notice the death glares he was receiving.

"Wait, today? Now?" Sirius asked in confusion. The twins nodded.

"Right this second! So get dressed, and get your butts down to the common room! We'll be waiting," Riley sighed, resigned herself, and went into the separate room to get dressed. She pulled on a purple t-shirt and a dark blue hoodie, and some jeans and black Converse. When Riley came out, the room was empty, so she joined the boys in the common room.

"Today, we play Extreme Dare," Fabian said. They were sitting in a circle, an empty butterbeer bottle in the middle.

"Wicked," Riley said, smiling, "I'll go first."

Riley reached out and span the bottle, which turned and landed on Sirius.

"All right, Sirius, I dare you to… go ask McKinnon out," Riley said, finishing with an evil grin in aforementioned Sirius' direction.

"Fine," he scoffed, and he walked over to Marlene, and walked back moments later, frowning, "she said no."

Riley snorted. Sirius span the bottle, which landed on Fabian.

"I dare you to eat Gideon's sock," he said. Fabian wrinkled his nose, making a disgusted face.

"That's gross! I won't-" Gideon shoved his sock into Fabian's mouth, then pulled out his wand and shrunk it, and Fabian swallowed.

"Ew," he shuddered. Everyone laughed.

**I'm sorry it's so short, but I wanted to give you a chapter. Please forgive me, I've hardly put out anything lately, I'll try to do better. Reviews will help me get out more chapters, please click the little button! :D**

**_Listening to: Crash Goes My World by Cadence Grace_**


	13. Crash Goes My World

**Disclaimer: I deeply adore Cadence Grace, Mumford and Sons, and Simple Plan, but I do not own any of them.**

**Warning: This chapter contains lots of music and blood. **

**So, I did it! Happy start of term! BLESS YOU HOGWARTS! WE ALL LOVE YOU! :D_  
><em>**

_Crash._

Riley swore, holding her hand, which had numerous gashes and was bleeding freely. She winced in pain, trying to stem the flow, but the wounds were too deep.

"Damn it," Riley muttered, cradling her hand to her chest. If Madam Pince saw her, she was doomed. Oh sure, ignore the fact that a student's injured, just get the nasty blood away from the precious books! Riley began muttering darkly, gathering her books up with her good hand, putting the bloody one inside her jumper pocket. The world was slowly spinning around her, and a large red stain was spreading on her jumper. She was losing a lot of blood, she had to get to the Hospital Wing. Suddenly, she fell to the ground, her books flying, her cut hand coming out of her pocket and hitting the floor.

"Riley!" A distant call was all Riley heard before she passed out, a puddle of blood around her hand.

(SiriusPOV)

"Riley!" I yelled. She was on the ground, unconscious, books next to her, and a large blood stain was gathering near her left hand. Remus pulled out his wand, pointing it at Riley.

"_Wingardium Leviosa,"_ he said. His face looked determined, but his voice was shaky. He was worried for Riley. We all were.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Peter asked nervously, picking up her dropped books.

"Don't worry, Peter, she'll be fine," James said, but I could tell, he was scared too. We all walked along the floating Riley to the Hospital Wing, leaving a trail of blood. Madam Pomfrey went very white when she saw Riley, ordering us to put her on the bed. As soon as Riley was down, Pomfrey started on her, doing wand movements and stuff, working on her hand. She ordered us out, telling us we could come back tomorrow.

(NoPOV)

Riley opened her tired eyes, looking around. Her hand lay next to her, numb and bandaged, and she was surrounded by white. She was in the Hospital Wing. Sirius and James were playing chess, and Remus was reading, while Peter watched the match.

"Hey," Riley said. The four boys' eyes immediately snapped to her.

"Riley! You're awake! How do you feel?" Sirius asked.

"A little tired, but fine," she replied.

"What happened? Was it Bellatrix again? I swear, if she hurt you-"

"It wasn't her, Siri, I tried to do a spell in the library and it went wrong," interrupted Riley. Sirius nodded and sat back down. Two seconds later, Madam Pomfrey rushed over and began handing her potions to force down.

* * *

><p>Riley woke up Monday morning, her head hurting, and feeling very tired.<p>

"This is not gonna be a good day," she sighed.

_I love to play with matches_

_I love to watch my bridges burn_

_Crash goes my world_

"Mudblood," hissed Bellatrix Black and Rudolphus Lestrange as Riley walked by. Riley narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Filth," Lucius Malfoy whispered.

"Back at ya, Luscious Mouthful," Riley retorted scathingly.

"You disgust me, you vile creature," Malfoy snapped.

"Look in a mirror lately, snake face?" growled Riley.

"Go crawl back in your hole, pest," Bellatrix said.

"You first, skank!" Riley shrieked. The Slytherin's eyes widened, and she drew her wand, pointing it at Riley. Suddenly, David Carmin, Head Boy, walked in between them.

"Ten points from Gryffindor and Slytherin," he said, and jerked his head, signaling them to go. Riley growled, those Slytherins were getting to her, this wasn't who she was.

_I laugh out loud at nothing_

_I never have time to wait my turn_

_Crash goes my world_

Sirius and James pulled her away, to go to Transfiguration, taking their seats just before Professor McGonagall walked into the classroom, passing out rocks and telling them to transfigure them into bananas. She walked around, looking at everyone doing it. Sirius, though he was waving his wand right and saying the right words, his rock was still a rock.

"Move over, Siri-poo," Riley said, "and watch the master at work. _Lapidem Dapibus!"_

The rock exploded, blowing ash all over McGonagall's face.

"Oops," Riley laughed nervously.

"Ten points from Gryffindor. Do try and work on your _own_ rock now," McGonagall said. Riley looked down, embarrassed.

_Bang, bang, bang, _

_Bang_

_Bang goes my universe_

Sirius, James, and Peter walked away from Riley after class, heading towards the Great Hall.

"Don't worry, Ri, they won't be mad, they've lost more points than you today without trying," Remus consoled, before leaving to go to the library. Riley sighed, flicked her bangs out of her eyes, and walked down the corridor.

_Boom, boom, boom_

_Crash goes my world_

_Oh_

Amanda Gray and Marlene McKinnon walked by at that exact moment, pushing her books out of her hands.

"Shove off, prudes," Riley snapped, picking up her fallen books. Amanda saw her bandaged hand, and grabbed it, while Riley hissed in pain.

"What's the matter, Stevens, fall down some stairs? Clumsy arse," said Amanda. Riley pulled away her hand, picked up her books, and walked away.

_Bang, bang, bang_

_Bang_

_Bang goes my universe_

_Boom, boom, boom_

_Crash goes my world_

"Swish and flick," Riley said dully to the Fat Lady, who swung open. After going in, she dumped her books on the floor, sat on her favorite chair, and sighed, looking around at the empty common room.

"Well this sucks," she said to no one, "and now I'm talking to myself."

Riley kicked at the floor a bit, and stared at her hand. Nothing had been going right for her lately. She needed to do something to get her mind off her troubles. Then, it clicked in her mind.

A prank.

People used pranks to vent their anger and get revenge, and revenge was exactly what she needed. On her revenge list was Gray, McKinnon, Carmin, Lestrange, Black, Malfoy, Remus, Sirius, James, Peter, and Minnie. She's just have to prank the whole Hall then. Oh, how fun.

_I love to crank the volume_

_I love the sound of breaking glass_

_Crash goes my world_

Riley hurled a few quills across the room, angry at the stupid Dungbombs. She had been trying to enchant them to explode Stinksap along with their nasty giant farts, and she had the Stinksap, but the ruddy spell still wouldn't work for her.

_I look back at the future_

_And I look forward to the big blast_

_Crash goes my world_

If the spell wouldn't work, she could just charm the Stinksap to the Dungbombs, and it would explode everywhere. Perfect. Tonight she would do something she hadn't done in years, do a prank all by herself. This would be her first individual act of crime since the paintball war.

_Bang, bang, bang_

_Bang_

_Bang goes my universe_

_Boom, boom, boom_

_Crash goes my world_

_Oh_

_Bang, bang, bang_

_Bang_

_Bang goes my universe_

_Boom, boom, boom_

_Crash goes my world_

_I just wanna stop the traffic_

Dinner had come, and all of the Marauders were at the Gryffindor table, except for Riley, who was hiding behind a suit of armor at the entrance of the Great Hall. Everyone on her list was there. Riley pulled twelve Dungbombs, lighted them, and rolled them to different points of the Hall.

_I just wanna drop the bomb_

3, 2, 1-

BOOM!

Everyone burst into wild shrieks, but McGonagall stood up, demanding silence.

"WHO DID THIS?" she yelled. It was too much for Riley, she burst out laughing, falling from her hiding place, clearly visible as the culprit.

_I just wanna see their faces_

_When they figure out what's going on_

"Stevens, detention. You can clean up this mess," snapped McGonagall. Riley frowned.

"We did it too, Professor, don't give her all the credit," said Sirius, standing up, followed by Peter, James, and Remus.

"Well then, you can _all_ clean this up. Everyone, go up to your common rooms, dinner will be finished there," McGonagall said. The majority of the Hall filed out, many covered in Stinksap, and Riley couldn't stop herself from smiling. She was still smiling when Filch arrived with mops, and when McGonagall confiscated her wand.

"Get to it,"

_Bang, bang, bang_

_Bang_

_Bang goes my universe_

_Boom, boom, boom_

_Crash goes my world_

_Oh_

"Sorry we walked away from you today, Riley, we just wanted to fix Sirius' face, we didn't mean to upset you or anything," James said, as the five got down on hands and knees scrubbing.

"That's okay. What was wrong with his face? Too ugly?" teased Riley.

"It was covered in explosion," Sirius grumbled.

"It was an accident! You guys shouldn't have said it was you too," Riley said.

"Let's just call it making up for when we got you into detention when you didn't pull that one prank with us," Peter spoke up. Riley smiled.

_Bang, bang, bang_

_Bang_

_Bang goes my universe_

_Boom, boom, boom_

_Crash goes my world_

_Crash goes my world_

_Crash goes my world_

* * *

><p>"<em>It's empty in the valley of your heart, the sun it rises slowly as you walk, away from all the fears and all the faults you've left behind. The harvest left no food for you to eat, you cannibal you meat-eater, you see, I have seen the same, I know the shame in your defeat," <em>sang Riley, as she strummed her guitar in the common room on December 1st.

"What song is that?" Remus asked, looking up from his book.

"The Cave by Mumford and Sons," Riley replied, before continuing her chord.

"_But I will hold on hope, and I won't let you choke, on the noose around your neck. I'll find strength in pain, and I will change my ways, I'll know my name as it's called again," _

"Who and who?" asked Sirius.

"Mumford and Sons. They're a Muggle band. This is the only song of theirs I've heard, but it's one of my favorite songs," she replied.

"Why didn't you tell us you could play guitar?" James asked.

"Never came up. Now, if you guys are done bombarding me with questions, I'd like to continue my song," Riley sighed.

"Actually, one more question. What does bombarding mean?" asked Sirius. Riley growled, Sirius' eyes widened, and they continued their individual activities.

"_Cause I have other things to fill my time, you take what is yours and I'll take mine. Now let me at the truth which will refresh my broken mind. Tie me to a post and block my ears, I can see widows and orphans through my tears, I know my call despite my faults and despite my growing fears," _ Riley rolled her eyes as she repeated the chorus, Sirius and James had abandoned their chess game and were now doing a really bad waltz on top of the table.

"_So come out of your cave walking on your hands, and see the world hanging upside down, you can understand dependence when you know the maker's hand. So make your siren's call, and sing all you want, I will not hear what you have to say. Cause I need freedom now, and I need to know how, to live my life as it's meant to be," _Sirius and James started dancing a weird jig as the tempo quickened.

"_Cause I will hold on hope, and I won't let you choke, on the noose around your neck, and I'll find strength in pain, and I will change my ways, I'll know my name as it's called again," _Riley put her guitar on the floor, and stared up at her two best friends, who were still dancing.

"You guys can stop dancing now, the song's over," she said.

"Play another one!" James demanded, not stopping the dance. Riley sighed, flicked her bangs out of her eyes, picked up her guitar, and began to strum another tune.

"_Do you ever feel like breaking down? Do you ever feel out of place? Like somehow you just don't belong, and no one understands you? Do you ever wanna run away? Do you lock yourself in your room? With the radio on turned up so loud, that no one hears you screaming? No you don't know what it's like, when nothing feels all right, you don't know what it's like to be like me," _

"Remus, please help me," said Riley, looking desperately at him. Remus shrugged.

"Keep playing!" Sirius said.

"_To be hurt, to feel lost, to be left out in the dark, to be kicked when you're down, to feel like you've been pushed around. To be on the edge of breaking down, and no one's there to save you, no you don't know what it's like, welcome to my life. Do you wanna be somebody else? Are you sick of feeling so left out? Are you desperate to find something more, before your life is over? Are you stuck inside a world you hate? Are you sick of everyone around? With their big fake smiles and stupid lies, while deep inside you're bleeding? No you don't know what it's like, when nothing feels all right, you don't know what it's like," _Again, Riley sang the chorus, waiting for Sirius and James to get bored so she could go up to bed.

"_No one ever lied straight to your face, and no one ever stabbed you in the back. You might think I'm happy, but I'm not gonna be okay. To be hurt, to feel lost, to be left out in the dark, to be kicked when you're down, to feel like you've been pushed around," _Riley was close to finishing the song, repeating the chorus twice, while looking at Remus desperately, and he just shot her amused looks.

"_Welcome to my life. Welcome to my life. Welcome to my life,"_

"All right, I'm going to go to sleep now-" Riley began, but Sirius and James shook their heads and sat on either side of her.

"That song was depressing. Play another song," James said.

"This had better not be a regular occurrence," groaned Riley.

"What does occurrence mean?"

"UGH!"

**So, I did Sirius' POV! I don't do POVs much, I'm not good at those, but I wanted to show you what happened after Riley blacked out. Also, I kept my promise, new chapter out by the first, aren't you all just so proud of me? I wanted to make a deal with you readers. If we hit the sixty reviews mark by the time I post chapter 16, when I start the second year, I'll do a week of new chapters every single day. EVERY DAY! Review previous chapters that you haven't reviewed yet, whatever. You don't even have to say anything important in the reviews. Get those reviews and I'll get those chapters. Ideas are appreciated, I still have huge block, this is just a temporary rush. I love reviews and I read and appreciate every single one. Also, I'd like to reply to some of them here.**

**I-Await-A-Protector:Thank, you I try. I love F&G, so I wanted to make them alike. Now we know where they got their sense of humor from! **

**silvermoony77: It's okay, I love your reviews. Thanks, I like adding in characters to make the plot thicker and more flexible, it helps a lot with the block. Yeah, that's the Gryffindor side in her coming out. Thanks for telling me, I always thought she was in Slytherin. Well, spare me this one mistake, I need Slytherin team members. ;D**

**QueenOfAshes: Yes, Sirius can be quite the sailor. Yeah, Imma have her beat one up soon, don't worry!**

**_Listening to: Over My Head by The Fray_**


	14. Of Snowballs, Points, and Potions

**Heeey! Chapter 14! Only about six or seven more and then we'll be on YEAR 2! Yaaay! **

Of Snowballs, Points, and Potions

Riley walked down the empty corridor, looking around for the large mirror which held the passage to Dervish and Banges. Once she reached it, she pulled it open, lit her wand, and started down the long passage. 30 minutes later, Riley was so anxious, she went up the trapdoor without listening to the voices on the other side.

"You!" a sharp yell from a man alerted Riley to his presence. She flattened herself up against the wall, eyes wide with fear.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, moving towards her.

"I c-came through the p-passage. Christmas shopping f-for my friends," Riley stuttered nervously. Would he turn her in? She would get suspended at the very least.

"Oh, that passage! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, it's just not every day some random Hogwarts students pops up in my store. You can use it, I've let others," said the man. Riley nodded, thanked him, and left. She fumbled with her list for a moment, pulling it out of her coat pocket, and looking at it.

_Remus-Honeydukes chocolate_

_James-Zonko's prank supplies_

_Sirius-Zonko's prank supplies_

_Peter-Dervish and Banges whistling telescope_

_Lily-Advanced potion kit_

_Mary-Peacock quill_

_Amel-Beater club necklace_

Riley flicked her hair out of her eyes and started down the street towards Zonko's. She got two Fanged Frisbees, some Belch Powder, a few Screaming Yoyos, and a Biting Teacup for each of them. She found the potion kit for Lily, and got a beautiful deluxe peacock quill at Scrivenshafts, and found a necklace for Pamela at Gladrags. She picked up the whistling telescope at Dervish and Banges before heading down the passage back to Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>"IT'S CHRISTMAAAASSS!" Riley screamed on the 25th of December, efficiently waking the other four residents of the dorm up.<p>

"PRESENTS!" Sirius yelled, diving into the mound of presents at the foot of his bed. Riley ripped open a package from Remus, which turned out to be a huge bag of Fizzing Whizbees.

"Wow, thanks Remy!" she said, smiling at her best friend, then turned to a package from her mum that her owl, Amber, had delivered. It was a large midnight blue jumper and a pack of licorice. Riley smiled. She missed her mum. Suddenly, James and Sirius hurled themselves onto her.

"-" they said. Riley looked over their heads to see their recently unwrapped presents of Zonko's supplies.

"You're welcome, now get off me!" laughed Riley. The two unhinged themselves from her, but then Peter gave her a hug.

"Thanks for the telescope, Riley, I love it," he said, smiling brightly. Riley smiled back, then unopened her present from James and Sirius. Her jaw dropped.

"No way,"

"Yes way," Sirius and James said simultaneously. Riley pulled them into a huge bear hug.

"YOU GOT ME A NIMBUS I TOTALLY LOVE YOU GUYS THANK YOU SO MUCH!" she yelled, happy tears in her eyes. Her brand new Nimbus 1800 lay on the bed, looking wonderful.

"Gotta get you onto the team next year, don't we? I'm going to be a Beater, whack the crud out of people, James will be a Chaser, we'll get Remus on the team somehow, and you'll be the best Seeker ever!" Sirius said, grinning. Riley turned to the remaining presents, from Peter, Lily, Mary, and Pamela. Peter had gotten her some Droobles' and sugar quills, Lily had gotten her a paintball gun(which she hid from the others), Mary had gotten her a beautiful necklace with an eagle on it, and Pamela had gotten her a Snitch keychain for her book bag.

"Hey guys, let's go have a snowball fight!" James suggested once they had all unwrapped their presents. The Marauders bundled up, and went outside. They were joined by Fabian and Gideon.

"Hey Fabe, Gid, up for some snowballin'?" Sirius asked.

"Totally," they both said. They immediately got going, pelting snowballs at each other like their was no tomorrow. Riley packed together a hard one, and lobbed it at the back of Sirius' head, then one at James' shoulder. They both hit their marks, and the boys turned around, crazed looks on their faces.

"You're going down now, Stevens!" James yelled, running towards her with Sirius. Riley's eyes widened and she ran. She was no match for the boys, though, and Sirius grabbed her legs and swung her over his shoulder. Riley kicked and punched at his back, but James grabbed her arms and they carried her over to a large snowbank.

"No, no, please guys, no!" Riley yelled. Remus, Peter, and the twins had come over, all watching gleefully. Sirius and James ignored her pleas and dumped her face first into the snow. She fought her way out, face freezing cold, and stared at her best friends, livid.

"IMMA KILL YOU TWO!" she yelled, running after them. They ran up to the castle, and riley chased them through the courtyard, and she ran smack into Professor McGonagall. Remus, Peter, Fabian, and Gideon, who were running after her, ran into her and they all fell onto the ground in a pile.

"Happy Christmas, Professor," Riley said, smiling.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," growled McGonagall, before walking off. Riley blushed sheepishly, before walking back into the castle with everyone else.

* * *

><p>The rest of the student body of Hogwarts returned to school after Christmas break, and Valentine's Day was coming up on the Marauders. Riley didn't care about getting valentines, she knew she was too young for love, but the boys were excited about all the candy, and James said he was going to ask Lily Evans out.<p>

On Valentine's Day morning, the Marauders went to the Great Hall, with the prank for tonight running through their minds. It involved a few select Slytherins, and a love potion. Fortunately, it was a Saturday, so they had enough time to sneak into Slughorn's office and nick the potion they needed. James had just remembered about something his father had given him before he came to Hogwarts, an invisibility cloak. They would use it to sneak into the dungeons. Riley would distract him by asking about the lessons for next week, Remus and Peter would keep watch, and Sirius and James would get under the cloak and get the potion from his stores.

"Professor?" Riley asked timidly, stepping into the dungeon classroom, where Slughorn sat at his desk, grading essays.

"Well, hello, Miss Stevens, can I help you?" Slughorn asked.

"I was wondering if you could tell me about what we'll be doing next week, so I could study ahead. I mean, you know how much I love Potions," Riley said, using a flattering voice and beaming at the Professor. He beamed right back.

"Oh, certainly. We'll be finishing our revisions of the Wiggenweld Potion, then we will start working on a simple potion to cure boils. Are you enjoying the holiday?" asked Slughorn.

"Oh, yes, I think the decorations in the Hall look very nice," Riley replied.

"As do I," Slughorn said. Riley said her goodbyes, and met with the others outside the room.

"Did you get it?" she asked. Sirius and James pulled the cloak off them and held up a bottle full of pink liquid.

"We got it," they said simultaneously.

"So, we need something to distract everyone in the Hall so you two can spike the drinks. It should be Valentine-related, though. What could we do?" They all thought over it for a minute, before Peter's face lit up.

"We could let a bunch of pink bunnies loose," he suggested. Riley, Sirius, and James pulled him into a hug.

"That is a brilliant idea, Pete!" Sirius said.

"Now we just need to figure out how to get a bunch of pink bunnies," said James.

"We could always ask Amel," Riley pointed out.

"Great idea," Peter said. And ten minutes later, that was what they were doing. They were in the library, talking to Pamela.

"I don't know how to do Conjuring Spells yet, or turn anything into bunnies. I suppose you could ask Maria," Pamela said, thoughtfully.

"Well, we want as few people to know as possible, because we're doing this prank as the Marauders," whispered Riley. Pamela's eyes lit up, her mouth dropping open.

"That was you guys at Halloween? No way, that's so cool! Don't worry, I won't tell anybody, and neither will Maria. She may be a nerd, but she loves a good prank, and between you two and Fabian and Gideon Prewett, you're making her last year awesome. She's over there, in the Charms section," Pamela pointed to the spot where her sister was, nose in a book. Her short blond hair was held out of her face by a blue headband, which matched her blue eyes. She was very tall, and very pretty. Riley and Pamela led the way over to her. As Maria looked up, Riley began speaking.

"Long story short, we're the Marauders and we need to figure out how to get a bunch of pink bunnies for tonight. Can you help?" she asked. Maria's face broke into a huge smile.

"You first years are the Marauders? I never would have suspected someone so young, but the pranks just started this year. I can Conjure a bunch of bunnies for you at the feast, it would be a lot of work to keep them in a cage or something until then," said Maria. They all nodded, and got set to planning.

* * *

><p>"You guys ready?"<p>

"Wait for Peter,"

"Where is he?"

"Bathroom,"

Facepalm. The Marauders, Pamela, and Maria were hiding, ready to begin the prank. Peter ran into their spot.

"Sorry, guys," he whispered. Riley nodded to Maria, who waved her wand, and about one hundred bunnies ran into the Great Hall. It was chaos. People were standing on the tables, some people were chasing them, trying to catch one, others were being chased, and James and Sirius slipped under the cloak, and walked over to where Bellatrix Black, Lucius Malfoy, and Rodolphus Lestrange were standing on the Slytherin table, pushing younger students off. Dumbledore stood, waved his wand, and the bunnies disappeared. Riley, Remus, Peter, Pamela, and Maria snuck into the crowd as everyone returned to their seats.

"DUMBLEDORE I LOOOVE YOU!" screamed Bellatrix Black, looking at Dumbledore. Everyone in the Hall tried to stifle their laughter.

"NO, I LOVE HIM MORE THAN YOU!" yelled Lucius Malfoy.

"YOU ARE PATHETIC! NOTHING COMPARES TO MY LOVE!" Rodolphus yelled.

Slughorn stood up, looking baffled.

"What are you three doing?" he bellowed.

"It appears they have been fed a love potion," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. The Marauders exchanged smirks. Of course he would know.

"Who did this?" demanded McGonagall. The five Gryffindor's smirks only grew bigger, before James' eyes widened, and he looked around at the others.

"Guys, we forgot a way to sign the prank!" he whispered frantically.

"Relax," whispered Riley, "I've got it covered."

She waved her wand, and several pink balloons rose into the air, each with a letter painted on it. When the balloons flew into a line, they spelled out a message.

THE MARAUDERS WERE HERE!

"Who are these Marauders?" McGonagall yelled furiously. No one answered her. All was silent in the Hall until Lucius called out again.

"DUMBLES YOU ARE MY SOULMATE!"

"NO! HE IS _MY_ SOULMATE! MY SWEET DUMBLEDORE, I WANT TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER!" yelled Bellatrix. Many people in the Hall burst into laughter, others shuddered at the mental image of Bellatrix Black, and Albus Dumbledore _together._

"I'll take them to my office, get them an antidote," Slughorn said, before leading the three lovestruck Slytherins out of the Hall. He was assisted by other Slytherins, as Lucius, Bellatrix, and Rodolphus did _not_ want to leave Dumbledore.

"Guys, when are we going to reveal ourselves?" asked Peter.

"I dunno, Pete, maybe at the end of the year," replied James. Riley smiled.

"Then this prank needs to be our best yet,"

**There it is! Thanks to silvermoony77 for the great ideas, they are seriously appreciated. Don't forget to review, people, if we hit the 60 review mark by chapter 16, 7 days of nonstop updates! Reviews are love, they are like hugs and candy. SEND THEM! That button is there for a reason, ya know. I still need ideas, people, if you could please send me anything you have! Even prompts, those help too. More reviews=Faster updates.  
><strong>


	15. Mudblood

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENCE AND BLOOD.**

**WARNING: IT'S ALSO VERY SHORT.**

**WARNING: I'M BORED, AND EVERYONE KNOWS NOTHING IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN A BORED TEENAGE GIRL WHO CAN MAKE STUFF EXPLODE.**

**Enjoy this mildly suckish chapter!**

Mudblood

Days turned into weeks, weeks becoming months. Winter turned to spring, and the exams grew closer. Riley, Lily, Remus, Peter, and Mary studied together in the library every single day. Lily and Riley studied until Madam Pince forced them out of the library each night. They managed to get back to the dorms before curfew, but one day, Riley decided to take a shortcut from the dungeons.

"Riley, are you sure you know where we're going?" Lily asked, as Riley led her down into the dungeons.

"Relax, Lils, I found this one myself. I could never not find it," replied Riley. They stopped short as they saw who was ahead of them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't some Gryffindor mudbloods. Get lost, firsties? These here are the dungeons," sneered a tall and lanky boy donning the Slytherin robes.

"Nott," Riley acknowledged coolly.

"Ah, Stevens, having fun in the House of filth? Stupid worthless no-good group of-"

WHAM.

Nott stumbled back, holding his hand up to his mouth, which had just been introduced to Riley's fist. Riley punched Nott in the stomach, and he doubled over, blood coming from his mouth.

"Filthy mudblood," he spat, glaring up at her. Riley ignored his remark and kicked him in the shin, pushing him to the ground. He made no move to get up, and Riley and Lily continued on, Lily staring with a combination of awe and shock.

"Close your mouth, Lils, you'll catch flies," remarked Riley, smirking.

"Why did you do that?" Lily asked, after regaining her voice.

"I'm sick of all the crap I'm getting for being a Muggle-born from Slytherin. You know Sirius' cousin broke my arm a few months ago? And then there was the whole Snape incident. I won't put up with it anymore," she snarled, before turning to Lily with a softer tone.

"You'll thank me. People will think twice before calling us names, especially with the Marauders on our side," said Riley. Lily's eyes widened, and she turned to Riley.

"You know who they are?" she asked. Riley's eyes bugged out to an almost comical size, and she slapped her hand over her mouth, realizing what she just said.

"Oh shit Lils, don't tell anyone. Yeah, it's me, Sirius, James, Remy, and Pete. We're the Marauders," whispered Riley. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Riley, I knew you were insane, but I didn't know you were Marauder level insane. You know how mad Professor McGonagall is at you guys? If she finds out, you're in for months of detention," Lily said.

"I hope not _months_ of detention. We're revealing ourselves soon with a prank," replied Riley cheerily.

"You do realize McGonagall will kill you?" asked Lily.

"Yup,"

* * *

><p>"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"<p>

Riley ran into the common room screaming at the top of her lungs. She grabbed Sirius, who was playing wizard chess with Peter, by his shoulders and looked into his eyes crazily.

"THE EXAMS ARE IN TWO WEEKS! HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN? I NEED TO STUDY!" she yelled, shaking the young heir.

"Ri, calm down. You've been studying for two months every single day. I'm sure you will be fine," Sirius said calmly. Riley's eye twitched as she glared at him, then fainted onto the floor. Sirius swore.

"Guys, what's wrong with her?" he asked nervously as the others came up to them.

"Well, she hasn't really been at breakfasts and dinners. I thought she was eating in the kitchens, I didn't know she was studying so much," answered Remus worriedly.

"Let's take her to the kitchens and get her some food. Then we'll yell at her for being a STUDY OBSESSED IDIOT!" yelled James, "SHE SHOULD HAVE COME TO US! WE COULD HAVE HELPED HER! WHY DIDN'T SHE TELL US SHE WAS PRACTICALLY STARVING HERSELF JUST FOR MORE TIME IN THE LIBRARY!" Peter grabbed James from behind and put his hand over his mouth, muffling his angry cries. After a few moments, James calmed down and Peter released him, then they carried the unconscious Riley to the kitchens. The house elves got chairs for them, and began preparing a big meal for Riley.

"Guys?" Riley asked weakly. The four boys ran to her, realizing she was awake.

"Riley," James replied, voice equally weak.

"I'm sorry, guys, I know you're mad, but I needed to study," she whispered, not meeting their eyes.

"You don't need to study, you're brilliant," Sirius said. Riley still didn't look up. Sirius, James, and Remus walked away to talk with the elves, but Peter moved his chair next to Riley's and put an arm around her.

"Why are you so worried about these exams? You're top of our year, I know you'll pass with flying colors," consoled Peter.

"What if I'm not good enough?" she asked.

"You are good enough. Why would you even think that you're not?" Peter questioned. Riley was silent for a moment, then looked up into Peter's brown eyes.

"Mudblood," she whispered.

"Riley, you know that doesn't mean anything. You're a great person, don't let those stupid gits get to you. You're in Gryffindor, a great House, and they're in Slytherin. You get straight O's, and you _earn _them, while those prejudiced jerks probably threaten first years and bribe teachers to get good grades. They're pathetic, you're amazing. You're bloody Marauder, for Merlin's sake. Loads of people like you, you've got friends in all different Houses in all different years. You're a social butterfly. You may have Muggle parents, but you're no Mudblood," Peter said. Riley smiled, tears of happiness filling her eyes.

"You really mean it?" she asked.

"Of course I do," replied Peter.

"Thanks Pete," Riley said, pulling him into a hug. After a few moments, the house elves came over with food for them, and the five ate together happily.

* * *

><p>Over the next two weeks, the Marauders studied, then sweated through several exams. In the Transfiguration practical, they had to turn a jar into a flower. James turned his jar into a purple tulip, Sirius' became a daisy, Peter got a slightly wilted sunflower, Remus, a bouquet of snapdragons, Riley, a perfect red rose, and Lily got a lily. James stole Riley's rose and used it to ask Lily out, only to have the rose shoved into his mouth.<p>

The Slytherins mainly left the five alone, due to Bellatrix, Lucius, and Rodolphus taking their NEWTs, they had no time to bother them.

And the Marauders planned their revealing prank.

**:/ Sorry it's so short, guys, I wanted to put in the end of term feast, but it really wouldn't fit in a chapter titled Mudblood. Ugh. I try to write humor, but all my chapters are angsty. I could really use ideas for next year, guys, I'll be ending year one in the next chapter. Get in those reviews, people! **

**_Listening to: Your Guardian Angel by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus_**


	16. Best Last Days Ever

**Haaaaaai! This will be the last chapter, and extremely short because I have no ideas for the end of this year. :/**

Best Last Days Ever

Hogwarts was in extreme danger.

The Marauders were bored.

With the end-of-year prank planned, classes over, and only three days until term ended, there was absolutely nothing for them to do. Their detentions were served, they had been to Hogsmeade twice in the past week, there was no Quidditch, and they had already packed.

"This is insane. We need to do something, or I will explode of boredom," sighed Riley, "ideas. Now."

"We could stalk Evans,"

"Prank old Snivells?"

"Go to the kitchens!"

"We could read…"

"No, that's stupid,"

"How about we go to Hogsmeade?"

"We've already been there, dummy,"

"Don't call me dumb. It was just a suggestion. I'm bored too,"

"ARGH!"

Riley grabbed her wand, some Filibuster's fireworks, and left the dorm. The other Marauders exchanged looks, shrugged, and grabbed their own wands and fireworks before following her. After a while, though, it was clear she had no specific place in mind to go to, and it wasn't until they were on the seventh floor did the boys stop her.

"Riley!" called out James. Riley turned around walked back to them, and poked Peter in the eye, before turning back around and walking the exact path she had taken moments ago. Suddenly, from the large, blank stone wall, a large door materialized. The five first years gaped, before pulling it open and walking inside. Inside was a large room, much like the Gryffindor common room, with large, squashy couches, tables of food, and loads of fireworks and miscellaneous prank items scattered around the room.

"What is this place?" asked Sirius, looking around in a dreamlike state.

"It's the Room of Requirement, I read about it in _Hogwarts: a History_," answered Riley, taking a seat on a comfy couch and taking up a book and a blanket that materialized next to her.

"Really? I haven't read about that," mused Remus.

"It's in the epilogue, accounts of special places in the school by students who found them," Riley said.

"Now I guess we know what we're doing for the next three days," said Peter. They all took seats on the couches, enjoying hot chocolate and cookies, while reading, setting off fireworks, talking, before their idle chatter turned into a game of I Never. They went in a circle, telling things they had never done, and those who had done those things took a sip from their mug of cocoa.

"I have never eaten a bug," Peter said, and Sirius took a sip from his cup. Riley flashed him a disgusted look before taking her turn.

"I never kept a really big secret from a friend," she said. A moment's pause, then Sirius and Remus both drank.

"What are you guys keeping from us?" James asked, curiosity piqued. Remus shook his head, but Sirius spoke up.

"My parents are bad, you guys know that, so don't be too surprised," he said, then took a deep breath, "They do some pretty bad stuff. Once, when I was eight, my mum lit my hair on fire. Last year, my dad shoved me into the piano because Regulus tripped when I was standing next to him. He also threw a fork at me once, when I was about six."

"They did all that? Sirius, that's horrible, they can't do that stuff to you, it's abusive," Riley said, shocked and appalled by Sirius' so-called parents' actions.

"They don't do it that often, Ri, and it's only when they're really pissed off. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Don't ever say that again, Sirius Black, you make it sound like they could actually kill you. Your own parents! We have to get you out of there as soon as possible this summer,"

"If you can. I just don't want to be there when we have to go shopping for ickle Slytherin-in-the-making Reggie before term starts, he's starting next year,"

"We'll do whatever it takes, Sirius, we're your best mates and we're not about to let you get hurt," James said. Sirius smiled, before they all turned to Remus.

"So, mister Lupin, what're you hiding?" Riley asked.

"It's nothing," he replied quickly, before motioning at James to take his turn.

* * *

><p>"Now, as I believe, another year has gone by, and the House Cup needs awarding. The places are as thus, Hufflepuff, with 327 points, Slytherin, with 384 points, Gryffindor, with 432 points, and Ravenclaw, with 469 points," said Dumbledore, and a great cheer erupted from three tables in the Hall. Even though Ravenclaw won, everyone was happy to see the Slytherins lose. Riley nodded discreetly at the others, and they drew their wands. Water began flooding the Hall, rising quickly, but stopped at the seats of the benches at the tables. Giant blue and bronze rubber ducks began floating along, emitting loud quacking sounds. One particularly large duck was levitated into the air, then exploded, leaving THE MARAUDERS spelled out on the ceiling in Ravenclaw colored letters. Then, the five Marauders mounted a duck, which began flying around the Hall.<p>

"You five!" yelled McGonagall furiously from the staff table.

"Figured it out, have you, Minnie?" asked Sirius cheekily.

"That's right, fellow students, we are the Marauders!" concluded James.

"That really is some impressive magic, especially for first years," said Dumbledore, smiling up at the five students.

"Dumbledore! These five have rolled giant burning pumpkins around, flooded the Hall, flew around on ducks, gave other students love potions, and filled the place with PINK BUNNIES!" McGonagall said, face red.

"If you insist, Minerva. You five will serve a detention on the first day of term at the beginning of next year. Have a wonderful summer," he said cheerily, ignoring McGonagall's loud noise of indignation.

"One detention? Really Albus?" she asked.

"They have performed extraordinary spells, though I do imagine they would have been helped for all those bunnies," replied Dumbledore.

"Score," Riley said, high-fiving the others.

* * *

><p>The Marauder's first year at Hogwarts ended, and they took the train back home, planning to meet each other's parents, except for Sirius'. As soon as the train pulled into the station, they grabbed their trunks and other belongings and rushed out of the train over to Mr. and Mrs. Potter.<p>

"Hey mum!" said James, as he was swept into a big hug by his mother, "These are my friends." Riley waved to Mrs. Potter.

"I'm Riley, which is probably noticeable, seeing as I'm the only girl," she said. Mrs. Potter laughed and pulled Riley into a hug.

"It's so nice to meet you all at last. James has told us so much about you," said Mr. Potter.

The five Marauders talked to Peter's mom, Remus' dad, managed to avoid running into Sirius' parents, and then walked out of the barrier to where Riley's parents were waiting.

"RI-BEAR!" yelled Riley's dad at an insanely loud volume.

"Hi, Dad. I take you missed me, huh?"

"Hello, sweetie, are these your friends?" asked Riley's mom.

"Yeah, this is Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter. I'm smarter than all of them," she said, choosing to ignore the elbow in her side, courtesy of Remus.

"Suuure you are," he said sarcastically. Riley laughed, gave each of them a hug, and with promises to write and exchanging of parting words, the five best friends departed, ready to count down the days until they could return to Hogwarts, and be together again.

**Mischief Managed!**

**And that finished Brothers With a Sister Year 1! I'll be doing year 2 on a different story, just soz you know. Look for it, it will be up soon. I feel very accomplished. Please review, they mean the world to me and let me know I'm not just writing stuff no one reads. REVIEW OR DIE A MOST PAINFUL DEATH! See you in year 2! Hey, that rhymed...**

**_Listening to: Crash and Burn by Savage Garden_  
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	17. AN Sequel!

Hey everybody! The wait is over, and BWAS Year 2 has been published! PM me with any ideas you have for the story, I would love to hear from you. Reviews are love! Take the easy route, just go to my profile and you'll see it! Peace out!


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